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By 

Dr.  E.  Winchester  Stevens 


Probably  the  most  remarkable  case  of  Spirit  Return 

and  Manifestation  ever  recorded  in  history.  Fully 

Authenticated  by  a  multitude  of  witnesses. 

Over  100,000  copies  sold.    A  girl  dead  and 

buried   12  years  conies  back,  identifies 

herself  and  lives  for  3  months  and  ton 

days  as  the  recognized  daughter 

of  her  parents. 


The  Austin  Publishing  Company 

4522   St.   Charles   Place 

Los   Angeles,  -  California 


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IlllHOlS  HISTORICAI  SBRm 


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By 

Dr.  E.  Winchester  Stevens 


Probably  the  most  remarkable  case  of  Spirit  Return 

and  Manifestation  ever  recorded  in  history.  Fully 

Authenticated  by  a  multitude  of  witnesses. 

Over  100,000  copies  sold.     A  girl  dead  and 

buried   12  years  comes  back,  identifies 

herself  and  lives  for  3  months  and  ten 

days  as  the  recognized  daughter 

of  her  parents. 


The  Austin  Publishing  Company 

4522    St.    Charles   Place 

Los   Angeles,  -  California 


Copyright  1928 

By 
B.  F.  AUSTIN 


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MARY  fKffT 


E   W.  STEVEI6,  M.  O. 


IN  APPRECIATION 

After  a  life  devoted  wholly  to  the  service  of  his 
feliowkind,  Winchester  Stevens,  the  narrator  of 
these  phenomena,  passed  to  the  Summerland  Decem- 
ber 9,  1885,  at  the  age  of  sixty-three  years. 

Honest  and  candid,  kindly  of  heart  and  pure  in 
thought,  of  great  beneficence,  and  of  rare  skill  in  his 
profession,  enriched  by  years  of  experience,  the  good 
deeds  and  the  influence  of  Dr.  Stevens  are  still  sens- 
ed in  the  common  heart  of  the  world,  in  lives  made 
better. 

'*The  good  that  men  do  lives  after  them." 


INTRODUCTION 
By  J.  M.  Peebles,  M.D.,  M.A. 

Not  only  is  this  an  age  of  investigation,  research 
and  original  discoveries,  but  it  is  an  age  of  skepti- 
cism and  persistent  doubt  touching  all  such  realities 
as  relate  to  the  invisible.  The  sense  perceptions 
are  far  more  to  the  front  than  the  aspirational,  up> 
looking,  spiritual  faculties.  Sad  to  say,  the  masses 
live  more  in  the  back  and  selfish  side  brains  than  in 
the  coronal  soul-parlors  open  to  spiritual  visitants 
and  angelic  impressions. 

Had  not  the  inspirational  and  erudite  B.  F.  Austin, 
A.M.,  D.D.,  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  been  psychically 
directed  to  the  preservation  of  these  remarkable 
phenomena  occurring  in  the  Roff  family,  Watseka, 
III.,  they  would,  no  doubt,  have  been  relegated  to 
the  hazy  dream-land  of  myth,  companion  of  the 
martyred  Man  of  Nazareth,  the  Swiss  William  Tell, 
the  Indian  Pocohontas,  Joan  of  Arc  and  others  not- 
ed for  strange,  astounding  phenomena.  There  are 
those  in  our  midst  who  will  not  only  question  the 
knowledge  of  their  peers,  but  they  will  actually  in- 
vent miracles  to  get  rid  of  the  plain  truth — a  truth 
testified  to  by  the  wisdom  of  the  ages:  that  the 
spirits  of  our  dead  are  alive,  and  that  under  given 
conditions  they  can  not  only  bring  us  living  mes- 
sages, but  as  in  the  case  of  Mary  Roff,  they  can 
temporarily  inhabit  another  body,  and  dwell  for  a 
time  for  a  special  purpose  in  the  earthly  home  of 
her  friends,  to  their  almost  unbounded  joy. 

Through  the  medical  treatment  of  Mr.  Roff,  it 
d^  was  my  privilege  to  not  only  visit  Watseka,  III.,  but 
to  become  personally  acquainted  with  the  Roff 
family — a  family  not  only  highly  respected,  but 
moving  in  what  was  denominated  the  "first  society." 
And  further,  I  was  honored  by  knowing  personally 


8  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

Dr.  E.  W.  Stevens,  a  most  excellent  and  cultured 
gentleman,  gifted  with  strong  magnetic  power; 
which  power  was  intensified  by  a  smypathizing 
circle  of  influencing  spirits.  As  is  well  known,  this 
Dr.  Stevens  was  a  Spiritualist  and  a  conscientious 
and  deeply  religious  man,  honored  by  all  who  per- 
sonally knew^  him. 

The  remarkable  facts  related  in  this  book,  "The 
Watseka  Wonder,"  embodying  the  psychic  relations 
between  Lurancy  and  Mary,  were  so  new  that  many 
Spiritualists  held  it  was  impossoble  for  one  spirit  to 
enter  into  the  vacated  body  of  a  living  mortal  and 
manifest  through  it.  And  there  are  certain  Spirit- 
ualistic laggards  to  this  day,  who  talk  of  the  "im- 
possible" upon  this  and  kindred  matters. 

But  can  a  spirit  in  the  spiritual  spheres,  under 
any  conditions,  enter  into  the  vacated  body  of  a  liv- 
ing mortal  and  manifest  through  the  forty-two 
phrenological  brain  organs,  the  sinews,  muscles  and 
nerves — was  this  ever  done? 

What  Is  The  Spirit? 

Poets  and  prophets  are  ever  in  advance  of  the 
priests.  This  was  true  in  Hebraic  times,  and  it  is 
true  today.  That  old  prophet  who  compiled  the 
Book  of  Proverbs  exclaimed  in  an  inspirational 
moment:  **The  spirit  of  man  is  the  candle  of  the 
Lord."  And  it  is  the  office-work  of  the  candle,  or 
lamp,  to  light  the  room  and  its  furniture.  So  the 
conscious  spirit,  symbolized  by  the  candle-lights, 
manifests  through  the  forty-two  brain  organs, 
through  fleshly  body  of  muscles,  sinews,  nerves. 
Remember  that  the  body  is  a  bit  of  transitory  ma- 
chinery, conceived  and  built  up  by  the  conscious 
intelligent  spirit;  but  this  spirit-builder  in  the 
process  of  construction  did  not  so  build  and  fixedly 
mortise  itself  into  the  body  that  it  could  escape 
only  through  death.     This  would  be  a  living,  suicid- 


THE  WATSEKA  WONDER  9 

al  burial.  No;  this  conscious  spirit  is  not  necessari- 
ly wedged  and  fixed  in  a  few  feet  of  mortality.  It 
can  in  dreams  and  visions  temporarily  leave  the 
body,  visiting  different  parts  of  this  planet.  Mars 
and  the  stars  that  glitter  and  shimmer  above  us. 
And    so,    Lurancy    Vennum    having    through    wise  iL 

guides  left  her  body,  Mary,  of  the  Roff  family, 
actually  left  the  spiritual  world  and,  descending, 
dwelt  for  a  time  in  the  body  of  Lurancy,  taking  it 
to  her  former  home  and  enjoying  the  sweets  of 
love,  and  friendship,  and  family  relations.  She 
virtually  lived  several  months  in  two  worlds,  in  the 
earth  and  in  the  spirit  land;  vibrating  between,  en- 
joying both,  and  receiving  lessons  in  the  meantime 
from  the  angels  that  delight  to  do  the  Father's  will. 

There  was  no  "double  consciousness''  in  this  case. 
There  is  in  no  case.  The  consciousness  is  a  unit. 
Such  phrases  as  "duplex  consciousness,"  "seven- 
fold personalities,"  and  the  "super-conscious  sub- 
liminal," while  explaining  nothing,  confuse  and 
darken  speech. 

Once  I  asked  a  very  exalted  spirit  intelligence 
these  questions: 

Can  you,  while  entrancing  this  medium,  see  the  real  spirit? 
No,  I  can  not.      I  only  sense  and  see  the  spiritual  body. 

When  entrancing  a  mortal  in  the  body,  do  you  cause  the 
owner  of  the  body  to  vacate  it? 

Not  necessarily;  entrancement  is  little  more  than  mesmeric 
influence. 

Can  you  really  see — can  you  describe  the  unfleshed,  unclothed 
spirit  of  this  body? 

I  cannot.  The  most  that  I  can  say  through  this  instrument, 
is  that  it  seems  to  be  a  distinct  entity,  looking  like  a  fiery  diamond 
— a  brilliant  point  of  dazzling  brightness  shining  through  a  very 
ethereal  white  fluid,  connected  in  some  way,  sympathetically  and 
vibratorially,   with  the  body  that  it  owns.* 

*See   this   matter   more   fully   explained   on    page   45   of   "The 
Pathway  of  the  Human  Spirit"     (Peebles)  :-Au»tiu^  Pul>H»lw»g..Co.,  ^ 
L69  A-ngeles,  Calif oroia. 


10  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

How  little  the  wisest  of  us  know  of  the  mighty 
power  of  the  spirit!  In  fact,  all  power  is  spirit  power, 
invisible  and  ever-persisting;  and  the  witnessing  of 
this  unseen  pow^er — these  mighty  phenomenal  forces 
as  w^ere  manifest  for  months  in  the  Roff  family — 
demonstrates  the  certainty  of  a  future  life,  carrying 
with  it  the  memories  and  the  purer,  unselfish  loves 
of  this  life. 

These  remarkable  and  unquestionably  authen- 
ticated phenomena  transpiring  in  the  families  of  the 
Vennums  and  RofFs,  w^ere  not  supernatural:  but 
natural  to  that  higher  plane  of  spiritual  conscious- 
ness. Blessed  be  Spiritualism!  Its  star  of  progress 
is  in  the  ascendant.  Its  sun  w^ill  never  set.  And 
as  relating  to  the  great  hereafter,  it  will  be  said, 
sooner  or  later,  by  all  sane  persons:  "Gone — gone 
in  appearance  only  to  join 

The  choir  invisible 
Of  those  immortal  dead  who  live  again 
In  minds  made  better  by  their  presence." 

Spiritualism,  with  its  living  Father-Mother  in 
Heaven;  its  beautiful  brotherhood  of  man;  its 
present  and  perpetual  ministry  of  spirits;  its  pater- 
nal chastisements  for  w^rong-doing ;  its  open  heart 
tow^ards  all  reforms;  its  sweet  charity  for  human 
misfortunes;  its  encouraging,  inspiring  words  to  the 
sick;  its  comforting  voice  to  the  sad-hearted  mourn- 
er, and  its  musical  w^hisperings  of  love  and  precious 
messages  from  those  who  have  crossed  the  crystal 
river,  putting  on  immortality — summering  in  the 
eternal  verdure  and  bloom  of  the  elysian  fields  of  the 
blest,  where  souls  never  lapse  nor  suns  ever  set — 
is  of  God.  I  repeat,  this  Spiritualism  is  of  God.  It 
has  come  to  stay,  and  it  will  stay  and  stand  forever. 
Battle  Creek,  Mich. 


EDITORIAL  NOTE 

In  no  one  line  of  human  activity  today  is  the  prog- 
ress of  humanity  more  marked  than  in  the  increas- 
ed interest  of  the  people  in  matters  pertaining  to 
our  mental  and  spiritual  powers,  and  their  unfold- 
ment.  This  is  a  most  hopeful  sign  of  the  times, 
and  betokens  the  fact  that,  while  outwardly  we  are 
much  given  over  to  materialism,  that  in  our  newer 
and  real  life  we  are  mounting  upward  towards 
"nobler  things.'* 

A  thousand  signs  of  the  times  indicate  the  sig- 
nificant fact  that,  despite  the  mad  rush  for  money 
and  power  of  our  commercial  and  political  life,  a 
great  spiritual  hunger  has  come  upon  the  soul  of 
humanity,  and  one  that  no  amount  of  material  food 
can  ever  satiate.  We  have  the  authority  of  the 
great  Nazarene  teacher  for  saying  that  spiritual 
hunger  is  a  blessing,  and  that  il^  must  and  will  find 
ample  satisfaction. 

No  better  indicator  of  public  opinion  and  of  the 
trend  of  thought  and  desire  of  the  people  can  be 
found,  than  the  public  press;  and  this  indicates  a 
rapidly  increasing  interest  in  all  matters  of  psychic 
research  and  questions  regarding  man's  present 
and  future  unfoldment.  The  leading  dailies  of  the 
great  cities  are  now  vying  with  one  another  in  at- 
tempts to  supply  the  ever-increasing  demand  for 
authentic  facts  and  incidents  bearing  on  the  inter- 
communion of  the  two  worlds.  The  great  mass  of 
attested  incidents  collected  by  the  Society  for 
Psychical  Research  has — as  all  must  see — a  direct 
relation  to  the  Problem  of  Immortality.  The  great 
magazines — a  few  years  since  rigidly  closed  to  all 
occult  matters — are  now  finding  it  to  their  interest 
to  supply  their  readers  with  the  latest  and  best  in 
psychic  research.     And  the  end  is  not  yet. 


12  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

No  more  flitting  time  could  have  been  chosen, 
therefore,  for  bringing  out  a  new  and  enlarged  edi- 
tion of  the  "Watseka  Wonder,"  a  story  of  actual, 
yet  most  wonderful  happenings  in  Watseka,  Illinois, 
U.  S.  A.,  over  fifty  years  ago,  which  is  attested 
by  such  a  multiude  of  credible  w^itnesses — some  of 
them  living  today — that  to  doubt  the  story  is  to  im- 
peach all  human  testimony. 

The  facts  have  been  inquired  into  by  many  lead- 
ing psychologists  and  psychic  researchers,  includ- 
ing the  late  Dr.  Richard  Hodgson,  with  but  one  re- 
sult: a  ready  acknowledgment  of  the  authentic 
character  of  the  story.  If  the  story  be  true,  earth 
and  heaven  are  not  far  separated;  mortals  and 
spirits  do  communicate,  and  the  principal  conten- 
tions of  the  Spiritual  Philosophy  are  indisputably 
established. 

We  send  forth  the  new  edition  with  an  Introduc- 
tion by  the  venerable  Dr.  James  M.  Peebles  of 
Battle  Creek,  Mich.,  who  knew  the  chief  characters 
of  the  story,  and  Reminiscences  of  the  three  months' 
visit  of  Mary  Roff,  in  spirit,  to  the  home  of  her  peo- 
ple in  the  borrowed  body  of  Lurancy  Vennum,  by 
Mrs.  H.  H.  Alter,  of  Watseka,  111.,  her  sister,  with 
the  hope  that  it  may  interest  and  instruct  humanity 
and  help  to  solve  the  problem:  "If  a  man  die  shall 
he  live  again?" 

The  Publishers. 


r 


THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

Facta  are  tlie  basiB  of  philosophy} 
Philosophy  the  harmony  of  facts 
Seen  In  their  rigrht  relations. — T.  L.  Harris. 

*  *  *  The  springringr  up  of  Spiritualism  and  Theosophy  on 
BToands  burned  over  by  the  fires  of  the  orthodox  hell,  and  right 
in  the  teeth  of  the  east  'winds  that  blow  from  the  cheerless  seas  of 
doubt,  testify  to  the  hungrer  of  men  for  some  assurance  that  the 
loved  and  departed  are  not  also  lost.  Rev.  M.  J.  Savage,  in  a  ser- 
mon on  '^Immortality  and  Modern  Thought,"  delivered  at  the  Sara- 
toga Convention  of  Unitarians,  September,  1886. 

•  •  •  There  may  be  in  what  is  called  Spiritualism,  and  the 
mind  cure,  and  many  other  new  developments,  the  germs  of  a 
something  higher;  and  we  should  be  -willing  for  the  ne-w  theory 
to  take  its  place,  and  under  the  great  laws  of  life,  to  wrork  out  its 
destiny;  and  not,  Pharaoh-like,  seek  to  "kill  the  young  child."  It 
may  be  that  in  the  first  appearances  of  many  of  these  new  ideas, 
that  they  are  crude,  and  that  those  who  receive  them  and  advocate 
them  do  not  themselves  understand  all  their  real  meaning...  *  *  * 
Let  us  rejoice  that  the  continuity  of  life  seems  to  some  to  be  a 
demonstrated  fact;  and  that  to  others  there  seems  to  be  possible 
a  higher  law  of  mental  healing;  and  that  in  one  w^ay  and  another, 
and  by  all  w^ays  the  truth  is  coming  to  our  world,  and  our  world 
is  coming  to  the  truth.  *  •  •  — H.  W.  Thomas,  D.  D.,  in.  "Religio- 
Philosophical  Journal,"   (for  (December  25,  1886). 

Rationally   studied   and    interpreted,   unmixed   with    delusions 
self-grenerated  or  imposed  by  others.  Spiritualism  is  the  one  safe-  £,J^^ 

iraard  against  all  superstitions.     It  shows  that  the  unseen  world         r"'^ 
is  as  much  w^ithin  the  sphere  of  universal  nature  as  our  owrn;  it 
is  the  solvent  of  all  mysteries  that  have  perplexed  philosophers. — 
Epes  Sargent,  in  "Scientific  Basis  of   Spiritualism." 

Watseka,  Illinois,  has  been  swept  by  a  tidal  wave 
of  excitement,  on  account  of  the  presumed  insanity 
of  one  Lurancy  Vennum,  a  young  girl  belonging 
to  an  unpretentious  family  in  the  suburbs  of  the 
city.  Her  insanity,  as  it  was  thought  to  be,  dates 
from  July  11,  A.  D.  1877;  and  the  remarkable 
phenomena  continued  until  her  perfect  restoration 
through  the  aid  of  friendly  Spiritualists  and  spirits, 
on  May  21,  1878. 

Thus,  for  ten  months  and  ten  days,  did  these 
phenomena  continue  to  excite  and  agitate  the  peo- 
ple. 

The  follow^ing  is  a  true  narrative,  and  as  full  as 
the  facts  collected  from  the  parents  and  relatives 
of  the  parties  named  herein  and  observations  made 
by  the  writer,  will  warrant. 


14  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

Thomas  J.  Vennum  was  bom  May  7,  1832,  in 
Washington  Co.,  Penn. ;  Lurinda  J.  Smith  (his 
wife),  was  born  October  14,  1837,  in  St.  Joseph 
Co.,  Ind.  They  were  married  in  Fayette  Co.,  low^a, 
December  2,  1855. 

Mary  Lurancy  Vennum,  daughter  of  the  above 
named  Thomas  and  Lurinda  J.  Vennum,  was  bom 
April  16,  1864,  in  Midford  township  seven  miles 
south  of  Watseka. 

The  family  moved  to  Iowa,  July  12,  1864,  and 
returned  to  the  vicinity  eight  miles  from  Watseka, 
in  October,  1865.  In  August,  1866,  they  removed 
to  Milford,  twelve  miles  south  of  Watseka,  and  re- 
manied  there  till  March  1,  1870;  then  moved  out 
two  and  one  half  miles  from  Milford  until  April  1, 
1871,  when  they  moved  into  Watseka,  locating 
about  forty  rods  from  the  residence  of  A.  B.  Roff, 
the  spirit  daughter  of  whom,  according  to  all  the 
facts  and  representations  every  way  tested,  is  the 
principal  character  in  this  remarkable  narrative. 
The  family  remained  at  this  place  during  the  sum- 
mer. The  only  acquaintance  ever  had  been  be- 
tw^een  the  two  families  during  the  season,  was 
simply  one  brief  call  of  Mrs.  Roff,  for  a  few  minutes, 
on  Mrs.  Vennum,  which  call  was  never  returned; 
and  a  formal  speaking  acquaintance  betw^een  the 
two  gentlemen.  Since  1871,  the  Vennum  family 
had  lived  entirely  away  from  the  vicinity  of  Mr. 
Roff*s,  and  never  nearer  than  now,  on  extreme  op- 
posite limits  of  the  city. 

"Rancy,"  as  she  was  familiarly  called,  had  never 
been  sick,  save  a  light  run  of  measles  in  1873.  A 
few  days  before  the  following  incidents  took  place, 
she  said  to  her  family:  "There  w^ere  persons  in  my 
room  last  night,  and  they  called  *Rancy!  Rancy!!' 
and  I  felt  their  breath  on  my  face."  The  very  next 
night  she  arose  from  her  bed,  saying  that  she  could 
not  sleep,  that  every  time  she  tried  to  sleep  persons 


THE  WATSEKA  WONDER  15 

came  and  called  "Rancy !  Rancy ! !  **  to  her.  Her 
mother  went  to  bed  with  her,  after  which  she  rest- 
ed and  slept  the  rest  of  the  night. 

On  the  eleventh  day  of  July,  1877,  Lurancy  had  )^ 
been  sewing  carpet  a  part  of  the  afternoon,  when 
at  about  six  o'clock  she  laid  by  her  work,  as  her 
mother  said:  **Lurancy,  you  had  better  commence 
getting  supper."  The  girl  replied:  **Ma,  I  feel  bad; 
I  feel  so  queer,"  and  placing  her  hand  on  her  left 
breast,  she  immediately  went  into  what  seemed 
like  a  fit,  falling  heavily  on  the  floor,  lying  ap- 
parently dead,  every  muscle  becoming  suddenly 
rigid.  Thus  she  lay  five  hours.  On  returning  to  con- 
sciousness she  had  said  she  felt  "very  strange  and 
queer."  The  remainder  of  the  night  she  rested 
well.  The  next  day  the  rigid  state  returned,  and 
passing  beyond  the  rigidity,  her  mind  took  cogni- 
zance of  two  states  of  being  at  the  same  time.  Ly- 
ing as  if  dead,  she  spoke  freely,  telling  the  family 
what  persons  and  spirits  she  could  see,  describing 
them  and  calling  some  of  them  by  name.  Among 
those  mentioned  w^ere  her  sister  and  brother,  for 
she  exclaimed,  Oh,  motherl  can't  you  see  little 
Laura  and  Bertie?  They  are  so  beautiful!"  etc., 
etc.  Bertie  died  when  Lurancy  was  but  three  years 
old. 

She  had  many  of  these  trances,  describing  heav- 
en and  the  spirits,  or  the  angels  as  she  called  them. 
Sometime  in  September  she  became  free  from  them 
and  seemed  to  the  family  to  be  quite  w^ell  again. 

On  the  twenty-seventh  day  of  November,  1877, 
she  was  attacked  with  a  most  violent  pain  in  her 
stomach,  some  five  or  six  times  a  day;  for  tw^o  weeks 
she  had  the  most  excruciating  pains.  In  these  pain- 
ful paroxysms,  she  would  double  herself  back  until 
her  head  and  feet  actually  touched.  At  the  end  of 
two  weeks,  or  about  the  eleventh  of  December,  in 
these  distressed    attacks,    she    became    unconscious 


16  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

and  passed  into  a  queer  trance,  and,  as  at  former 
times,  would  describe  heaven  and  spirits,  often  call- 
ing them  angels.  "^ 

From  this  time  on  until  the  first  of  February, 
1878,  she  would  have  these  trances  and  sometimes 
a  seemingly  real  obsession,  from  three  to  eight  and 
sometimes  as  many  as  twelve  times  a  day,  lasting 
from  one  to  eight  hours,  occasionally  passing  into 
that  state  of  ecstasy  ,  when  as  Lurancy,  she  claim- 
ed to  be  in  heaven. 

During  the  time  recorded,  up  to  about  the  middle 
of  January,  1878,  she  had  been  under  the  care  of 
Dr.  L.  N.  Pitwood  in  the  summer  and  Dr.  Jewett 
during  the  winter.  These  M.  D.*s  are  both  eminent 
allopathic  practitioners,  and  residents  of  Watseka. 
Mrs.  Allison,  Mrs.  Jolly  and  other  relatives  and 
friends  believed  her  insane.  The  Rev.  B.  M.  Baker, 
the  Methodist  minister  in  charge  at  Watseka  wrote 
to  the  insane  asylum  to  ascertain  if  the  girl  could 
be  received  there.  It  seemed  to  be  the  general 
feeling  among  all  the  friends  save  the  parents  and 
a  few  who  were  only  sympathetic  observers  and 
thinkers,  that  the  girl  should  go  to  the  asylum. 

There  were  in  the  City  of  Watseka  at  this  time, 
persons  who  had  more  humanity  than  bigotry;  per- 
sons who  believe,  in  the  language  of  a  Spiritualist 
lecturer,  that  ^^disease  has  a  dynamic  or  spiritual 
origin;"  persons  claiming  to  understand  something 
of  the  occult  forces  and  phenomena  of  mind,  and 
the  diseases  incident  to  a  false  conception  of,  and 
opposition  to,  its  potencies;  persons  who  believe 
God  being  "no  respecter  of  persons"  and  **without 
variableness  or  shadow  of  turning,"  that  power 
exists  today,  as  in  the  days  of  the  Nazarene, 
to  cast  out  devils.  Among  this  class  w^ere  Asa  B. 
Roff  and  his  wife,  who,  with  others,  became 
thoroughly  aroused  to  the  importance  of  arresting 
the  movement,  to    take    a    lovely    child    from    the 


THE  WATSEKA  WONDER  17 

bosom  of  an  affectionate  family,  to  imprison  her 
among  maniacs,  to  be  ruled  and  cared  for  by  ignor- 
ant and  bigoted  strangers,  who  know  less  of  cata- 
lepsy than  a  blind  materialist  does  of  immortal- 
ity. These  good  people  ventured  in  the  most  gentle 
and  Christian  spirit,  to  counsel  with  the  parents 
and  advise  other  treatment,  different  from  any  that 
had  been  administered. 

These  earnest,  self-sacrificing  souls,  imbued  with         *^ 
the  conviction  that    uncultivated    spirits  had  some-  r 

thing  to  do  with  the  case,  plead  with  the  many 
friends  of  the  child  to  withold  her  from  the  asylum 
until  it  could  be  better  shown  whether  the  girl  was 
really  insane  or  her  unfortunate  condition  might 
be  attributable  to  foreign  minds. 

Mr.  Roff  after  much  persuation,  obtained  the 
consent  of  the  girl's  father,  to  visit  her  and  bring 
with  him  Dr.  E.  W.  Stevens,  of  Janesville,  Wis.,  to 
investigate  the  case.  Dr.  Stevens,  who,  for  several 
months,  at  frequent  intervals,  had  been  in  the  city 
and  a  silent  listener  to  the  scoffs  and  scandals 
thrown  out  towards  the  Spiritualists  on  account  of 
their  opinions  regarding  the  case,  and  the  universal 
foment  of  mind  in  the  city  over  it,  was  formally  in- 
vited by  Mr.  Vennum,  through  Mr.  Roff  to  visit  the 
family. 

On  the  afternoon  of  January  31  1878,  the  two 
gentlemen  repaired  to  Mr.  Vennum's  residence,  a 
little  out  of  the  city.  Dr.  Stevens,  an  entire  strang- 
er to  the  family,  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Roff  at 
four  o'clock  p.  m. ;  no  other  persons  present  but  the 
family.  The  girl  sat  near  the  stove,  in  a  common 
chair,  her  elbows  on  her  knees,  her  hands  under  her 
chin,  feet  curled  up  on  the  chair,  eyes  staring,  look- 
ing every  way  like  an  **old  hag."  She  sat  for  a 
time  in  silence,  until  Dr.  Stevens  moved  his  chair, 
when  she  savagely  warned  him  not  to  come  nearer. 
She  appeared  sullen  and  crabbed,  calling  her  fath- 


18  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

er  *'01d  Black  Dick,"  and  her  mother  "Old  Granny." 
She  refused  to  be  touched,  even  to  shake  hands, 
and  was  reticent  and  sullen  with  all  save  the  doc- 
tor, with  whom  she  entered  freely  into  conversa- 
tion, giving  her  reasons  for  doing  so;  she  said  he 
was  a  Spiritual  doctor  and  would  understand  her. 

When  he  asked  her  name  she  quickly  replied: 

**Katrina  Hogan." 

"How  old?" 

^*Sixty-three  years." 

'^Where  from?" 

"Germany." 

**How  long  ago?" 

*Three  days." 

"How  did  you  come?" 

'Through  the  air." 

*'How  long  w^ill  you  stay?" 

"Three  weeks." 

After  this  system  of  conversation  had  proceeded 
for  some  time,  she  modified  her  manner  very  much, 
appearing  to  be  a  little  penitent  and  confidential, 
and  said  she  would  be  honest  and  tell  the  doctor 
her  real  name.  She  w^as  not  a  w^oman;  and  her 
real  name  was  Willie.  On  being  asked  what  was 
her  father's  name,  she  replied,  '*Peter  Canning," 
and  her  ow^n  name  was  Willie  Canning,  a  young 
man;  ran  away  from  home,  got  into  difficulty, 
changed  his  name  several  times  and  finally  lost  his 
life  and  was  now  here  because  he  ''wanted  to  be," 
etc.  She  w^earied  \yith  answering  questions  and 
giving  details.  Then  she  turned  upon  the  doctor 
with  a  perfect  shower  of  questions,  such  as,  ''What 
is  your  name?  Where  do  you  live?  Are  you 
married?  How  many  children?  How  many  boys? 
How  many  girls?  What  is  your  occupation? 
What  kind  of  a  doctor?  What  did  you  come  to 
Watseka  for?  Have  you  ever  been  at  the  South 
Pole?     North  Pole?     Europe?    Australia?     Egypt? 


THE  WATSEKA  WONDER  19 

Ceylon?  Benares?  Sandwich  Islands?''  and  by  a 
long  series  of  questions  evinced  a  knowledge  of 
geography.  She  next  inquired  after  the  doctor's 
habits  and  morals  by  questions  like  the  following: 
**Do  you  lie?  get  drunk?  steal?  swear?  use  tobacco? 
tea?  coffee?  Do  you  go  to  church?  pray?"  etc., 
etc.  She  then  asked  to  have  the  same  questions  put 
to  Mr.  Roff.  She  declined  to  ask  them  direct,  her- 
self, but  through  the  doctor.  They  must  also  be 
repeated  through  him  to  Mr.  Vennum;  making  the 
w^hile,  some  very  unpleasant  retorts. 

When  at  about  half -past  five  o'clock,  p.  m.,  the 
visitors  arose  to  depart,  she  also  arose,  flung  up 
her  hands  and  fell  upon  the  floor,  straight,  stiff  and 
rigid,  as  sensitives  fall  with  the  "power"  in  Meth- 
odist revival  meetings;  and  believing  it  to  be  of 
the  same  nature,  the  doctor  took  occasion  to  prove 
it,  as  he  has  done  on  those  smitten  with  the  "power," 
by  controlling  body  and  mind  and  restoring  them 
to  a  normal  and  rational  state,  despite  the  **power." 

The  visitors  being  again  seated,  he  took  her 
hands  as  they  were  held  straight  upward,  like  iron 
bars,  and  by  magnetic  action  soon  had  the  body  un- 
der perfect  control  and  through  the  laws  of  Spirit- 
ual science  was  soon  in  full  and  free  communication 
w^ith  the  sane  and  happy  mind  of  Lurancy  Vennum 
herself,  who  conversed  with  the  grace  and  sweet- 
ness of  an  angel,  declaring  herself  to  be  in  heaven. 

In  this  condition  she  answered  the  doctor's  ques- 
tions v/ith  reference  to  herself,  her  seemingly  in- 
sane condition  and  the  influences  that  controlled 
her,  with  great  rationality  and  understanding.  She 
regretted  to  have  such  evil  controls  around  her. 
She  said  she  knew  the  evil  spirit  calling  itself 
Katrina  and  Willie  and  others.  The  doctor  con- 
tinued to  suggest  to  her  mind,  things  to  prepare 
the  way  for  a  change  of  influences,  by  enlighten- 
ing and  instructing  her  now    while    her    mind    was 


20  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

clear  and  in  this  superior  condition,  and  then  asked 
her,  if  she  must  be  controlled,  if  it  would  not  be 
better,  if  it  were  possible,  to  have  a  higher,  purer, 
happier,  and  more  intelligent  or  rational  control. 
She  said  she  would  rather,  if  it  could  be  so.  Then 
on  being  advised,  she  looked  about  and  inquired 
of  those  she  saw,  and  described,  and  named,  to  find 
some  one  who  would  prevent  the  cruel  and  insane 
ones  from  returning  to  annoy  her  and  the    family. 

X-  She  soon    said:      **There  are  a  great    many    spirits 

here  who  would  be  glad  to  come,"  and  she  again 
proceeded  to  give  names  and  descriptions  of  per- 
sons long  since  deceased;  some  that  she  had  never 
known,  but  were  known  by  older  persons  present. 
But,  she  said,  there  is  one  the  angels  desire  should 
come,  and  she  wants  to  come.  On  being  asked  if 
she  knew  who  it  was,  she  said:  ^*Her  name  is  Mary 
RoflF."  Mr.  Roff  being  present,  said:  "That  is  my 
daughter;  Mary  Roff  is  my  girl.  Why,  she  has 
been  in  heaven  twelve  years.  Yes,  let  her  came, 
we'll  be  glad  to  have  her  come."  Mr.  Roff  assured 
Lurancy  that  Mary  was  good  and  intelligent  and 
would  help  her  all  she  could;   stating  further  that 

Ss  Mary  used  to  be  subject  to  conditions  like  herself. 

Lurancy,  after  due  deliberation  and  counsel  with 
spirits,  said  that  Mary  would  take  the  place  of  the 
former  wild  and  unreasonable  influence.  Mr.  Roff 
said  to  her:  '*Have  your  mother  bring  you  to  my 
house  and  Mary  will  be  likely  to  come  along,  and 
a  mutual  benefit  may  be  derived  from  our  former 
experience  with  Mary."  Thus  reaching  the  sane 
mind  of  the  girl  and  through  her,  the  sane  minds 
of  a  better  class  of  spirits,  a  contract  or  agreement 
was  made,  to  be  kept  sacred  by  the  angels  in  heav- 
en and  heaven's  agents  in  the  flesh,  by  which  a 
1  mortal  body  was  to  be  restored  to  health;  a  spirit, 
/  unfortunate  in  earth-life,  with  twelve  years*  ex- 
perience in  spirit-life,  to  have  an  amended  earthly 


THE  WATSEKA  WONDER  21 

experience,  a  child  to  be  spiritualized  and  mould- 
ed into  a  fine  medium,  and  an  unbelieving  and  scoff- 
ing city  to  be  confounded,  and  the  greatest  truth 
y  the  world  has  ever  sought,  established  beyond 
doubt  or  cavil.  How  far  the  contract  has  ever 
been  kept  by  the  spirits  and  their  faithful  co- 
laborers  here,  the  sequel  w^ill  show^. 

The  object  of  the  visit  now  being  attained.  Dr. 
Stevens  asked: 

**How  long  do  you  want  to  stay  in  heaven?" 

She  answered. 

"Always,  sir." 

**But  you  will  come  back  for  the  sake  of  your 
friends?" 

*'Yes,  sir." 

"When  will  you  come  back?" 

^*At  twelve  o'clock." 

*'But  the  family  will  want  rest.     Can't  you  come 


sooner 


7» 


"Yes,  sir,  I  can." 

*^How  soon  can  you  come?" 

**At  nine  o'clock,  sir." 

"Will  you  come  at  nine?" 

"I  will." 

And  so  she  did. 

After  nearly  three  hours  of  careful  investigations, 
conversation,  and  the  application  of  the  laws  of  Spir- 
itual science  and  harmony,  Mr,  Roff  and  the  doctor 
retired,  leaving  the  family  satisfied  that  a  new 
foundation  of  light  and  source  of  help  had  been 
reached.  A  new  beam  of  truth  reached  and  touch- 
ed the  hearts  of  the  sorrowing  family — and  to  use 
the  language  of  Mary  Roff,  **Dr.  Stevens  opened 
the  gate  for  her,"  and  for  the  inflowing  of  light  K 
where  before  w^as  darkness. 

On  the  following  morning,  Friday,  February 
first,  Mr.  Vennum  called  at  the  office  of  Mr.  Roff 
and  informed  him  that  the  girl  claimed  to  be  Mary 


22  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

Roff  and  wanted  to  go  home.  To  use  Mr.  Vennum*s 
wards:  **She  seems  like  a  child  real  homesick, 
w^anting  to  see  her  pa  and  ma  and  her  brothers." 
It  now^  became  necessary  in  the  relation  of  this 
narrative  to  give  a  brief  sketch  of  the  life  of  Mary 
Roff. 

Mary  Roff,  daughter  of  Asa  D.  and  Ann  Roff,  was 
born  on  the  eighth  day  of  October,  1846,  in  Warren 
Co.,  Ind.  The  family  moved  in  November  of  the 
same  year  to  Williamsport,  Ind.,  thence  in  Septem- 
ber, 1847,  to  Middleport,  111.,  where  they  resided 
till  June,  1857,  when  they  removed  to  Victoria, 
Texas,  in  search  of  relief  for  a  sick  child.  In  March, 
1858,  they  returned  to  Oilman  and  remained  there 
and  at  Onarga,  111.,  till  the  building  of  the  Toledo, 
Poeria  and  Warsaw  Railroad,  when  they  returned 
to  Middleport,  November  8,  1859,  and  built  the  first 
house  in  the  new  town  of  South  Middleport  which 
is  now  part  of  the  City  of  Watseka,  where  they 
still  reside. 

In  the  spring  of  1847,  when  about  six  months  old, 
Mary  was  taken  sick  and  had  a  fit,  in  which  she  re- 
mained several  hours.  After  the  fit,  she  became 
conscious  and  lay  several  days  without  the  family 
having  much  hope  of  her  recovery.  In  two  or  three 
weeks  she  seemed  to  have  entirely  recovered.  A 
few  weeks  later  she  acted,  on  one  occasion,  like  a 
child  going  into  a  fit.  The  pupils  of  her  eyes  dilat- 
ed, the  muscles  slightly  twitched;  but  it  only  lasted 
a  few  moments.  From  the  age  of  about  six  months, 
she  had  these  spells  as  described,  once  in  from  three 
to  five  w^eeks,  all  the  time  increasing  in  force  and 
violence,  until  her  tenth  year,  when  they  proved  to 
be  real  fits,  having  from  one  to  three  and  some- 
times four  or  five  of  them  within  a  period  of  three 
or  four  days,  when  they  would  cease,  and  she 
would  enjoy  good  health  until  the  next  period  ap- 
proached. At  these  times,  she  for  a  few  days  would 


THE  WATSEKA  WONDER  23 

seem  sad  and  despondent,  in  which  mood  she  would 
sing  and  play  the  most  solemn  music  (for  with  all 
the  rest  of  her  studies,  in  which  she  was  consider- 
ed well  advanced,  she  had  learned  music),  and 
almost  always  would  sing  that  beautiful  song,  *'We 
Are  Coming,  Sister  Mary,"  which  was  a  favorite 
with  her. 

When  she  was  fifteen  years  old,  and  the  violence 
of  the  fits  had  increased,  the  parents  said  they 
could  see  her  mind  was  affected  during  the  melan- 
choly periods  prior  to  the  fits.  Dr.  Jesse  Bennett, 
now  residing  at  Sparta,  Wis.,  and  Dr.  Franklin 
Blades,  now  Judge  of  the  Eleventh  Judicial  Circuit 
of  Illinois,  and  resident  of  Watseka,  were  employ- 
ed to  attend  her.  Dr.  N.  S.  Davis,  of  Chicago,  and 
several  other  prominent  physicians,  had  examined 
her.  They  kept  her  in  the  water  cure  at  Peoria, 
111.,  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Nevins,  for  eighte^ 
months,  but  all  to  no  purpose. 

In  the  summer  of  1864  she  seemed  to  have  almost 
a  mania  for  bleeding  herself  for  the  relief,  as  she 
said,  **of  the  lump  of  pain  in  the  head."  Drs. 
Fowler,  Secrets  and  Pitwood  were  called  and  ap- 
plied leeches.  She  would  apply  them  herself  to  her 
temples,  and  liked  them  treating  them  like  little 
pets,  until  she  seemed  sound  and  well. 

On  Saturday  morning,  July  16,  1864,  in  one  of 
her  despondent  moods,  she  secretly  took  a  knife 
with  her  to  the  back  yard,  and  cut  her  arm  terrib- 
ly, until  bleeding  excessively,  she  fainted.  This  oc- 
cured  about  nine  o'clock  a.  m.  She  remained  un- 
conscious till  two  o'clock  p.  m.,  when  she  became 
a  raving  maniac  of  the  most  violent  kind,  in  which 
condition  she  remained  five  days  and  nights,  requir- 
ing almost  constantly  the  services  of  five  of  the 
most  able  bodied  men  to  hold  her  on  the  bed, 
although  her  weight  was  only  about  one  hundred 
pounds,  and    she    had    lost    nearly    all    her    blood. 


24  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

When  she  ceased  raving,  she  looked  and  acted 
quite  natural  and  well,  and  could  do  everything 
she  desired  as  readily  and  properly  as  at  any 
time  in  her  life.  Yet  she  seemed  to  know  no  one, 
and  could  not  recognize  the  presence  of  persons 
at  all,  although  the  house  was  nearly  filled  with 
people  night  and  day.  She  had  no  sense  whatever 
of  sight,  feeling  or  hearing  in  a  natural  way,  as 
was  proved  by  every  test  that  could  be  applied. 
,  She  could  read  blindfolded,  and  do  everything  as 
C  I  readily  as  when  in  health  by  her  natural  sight.  She 
would  dress,  stand  before  the  glass,  open  and 
search  draw^ers,  pick  up  loose  pins,  do  any  and  all 
things  readily  and  without  annoyance,  under  heavy 
blindfoldings. 

Near  the  time,  in  1864,  when  she  cut  her  arm, 
while  blindfolded  she  took  Dr.  Trail's  encyclopedia, 
turned  to  the  index,  traced  the  column  till  she  came 
to  the  word  "blood,'*  then  turned  to  the  page  indi- 
cated and  read  the  subject  through.  On  another 
occasion  she  took  a  box  of  her  letters  received  from 
her  friends,  and  sat  down,  heavily  blindfolded  by 
critical,  intelligent,  investigating  gentlemen,  ex- 
amined and  read  them  w^ithout  error  or  hesitancy. 
When  Rev.  J.  H.  Rhea,  Editor  A.  J.  Smith,  Mr.  Roff 
and  others  misplaced  and  promiscuously  arranged 
some  of  their  own  letters  with  Mary's  she  at  once 
proceeded  to  correctly  draw  out  the  intruded  let- 
ters and  examine  them.  If  wrong  side  up  she 
would  quickly  turn  them,  and  read  the  address  there- 
on, and  throw  violently  away  every  letter  not  her 
own;  and  re-arrange  twenty  or  thirty  letters  in  the 
order  she  desired  to  have  them.  Rev.  J.  H.  Rhea  was 
the  Methodist  minister  in  charge  at  the  time;  A.  G. 
Smith  was  editor  of  the  Iroquois  County  **Republi- 
can,"  now  editor  of  the  Danville  (111.)  **Times." 
She  was  also  investigated  by  all  the  prominent 
citizens  of  Watseka  at  that  time. 


THE  WATSEKA  WONDER  25 

With  the  physicians  her  peculiar  state  or  con- 
dition was  called  catalepsy.  With  the  clergy  it  was 
one  of  the  mysteries  of  God's  providence,  with 
which  we  should  have  little  to  do.  With  editors, 
who  are  obliged  to  be  wise  or  silent,  it  was  fits  or 
some  unaccountable  phenomenon.  All,  w^ith  untir- 
ing effort,  tried  to  solve  the  mystery  and  learn  what 
it  was  that  produced  such  strange  and  wonderful 
manifestations.  The  editor  of  the  Danville  "Times," 
in  a  recent  issue  writes: 

Now  as  to  Mary  Roff,  it  was  our  fortune  to  know  the  sweet 
girl,  who  was  herself  a  cataleptic,  and  who  died  twelve  years  ago. 
Disease  dethroned  her  reason  and  maddened  her  brain  until  she 
sought  her  own  and  others'  lives,  and  the  modest  young  lady  was 
transformed  into  a  screaming  maniac.  She  had  periods  of  ex- 
emption from  raving,  and  thus  her  aberrant  mind  conceived  fan- 
cies of  the  queerest  hue,  creating  the  most  impossible  beings  for 
associates,  and  conversing  w^ith  them,  she  maintained  her  own 
side  of  the  conversation  in  a  usual  tone  of  voice,  while  imagination 
supplied  her  created  associates  with  language  and  intelligence. 
When  in  this  condition,  her  father  and  mother  asserted  the  dis- 
covery that  Mary  could  read  a  book  with  its  lids  closed,  and  they 
desired  us  to  test  the  correctness  of  what  they  claimed.  We  there- 
fore took  from  our  side  pocket  a  letter  inclosed  in  an  envelope, 
and  holding  it  before  her  bandaged  eyes,  said  to  her,  'Mary,  read 
the  signature  to  that  letter.'  Immediately  the  proper  name  was 
pronounced. 

After  remaining  in  the  clairvoyant  state  above 
related  for  three  or  four  days,  she  came  again  to 
her  normal  condition  and  in  good  health  as  she 
usually  was,  except  the  fits.  From  this  time  she 
continued  as  she  had  been  prior  to  cutting  her  arm. 
Her  fits  increased,  and  her  parents  were  advised 
to  place  her  in  the  insane  asylem. 

On  July  5  1845,  while  her  parents  were  at  Peona, 
111.,  on  a  three  days*  visit,  she  ate  a  hearty  break- 
fast, and  soon  thereafter  lay  dow^n  on  her  bed,  and 
in  her  usual  health  went  to  sleep.  In  a  few  minutes 
she  was  heard  to  scream,  as  was  usual  on  taking  a 
fit.  On  approaching  her  bedside,  they  found  her  in 
a  fit,  and  in  a  few^  moments  she  expired. 


26  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

We  now  return  and  take  up  the  original  narra- 
tive where  w^e  left  it,  dating  February  1,  1878,  w^hen 
it  was  first  seen  that  Mary  Roff  had  control  of 
Lurancy*s  body,  and  teasing  to  go  home.  Could  it 
be  possible  the  gulf  of  death  had  been  bridged!  the 
gate*  of  heaven  left  open?  Had  Mary,  like  Moses 
and  Elias,  returned  to  a  transfiguration?  Or,  like 
the  spirit  of  "one  of  the  prophets,**  had  she  come 
w^ith  revelation  to  the  grotto  of  darkness  in  this 
benighted  Patmos?  Were  the  unnumbered  facts 
of  scriptural  ages  repeating  themselves  now^?  Can 
we  say  with  Job,  "A  spirit  passed  before  my  face?" 
Ezekiel  and  Isaiah  talked  with  the  departed,  Saul 
conversed  w^ith  Samuel,  Paul  and  the  shepherds 
w^ith  spirits  in  the  air,  and  can  we  talk  with  Mary? 
And  the  friends  of  the  family  went  up  to  see,  and 
answered,  *'Yes!" 

From  the  wild,  angry,  ungovernable  girl,  to  be 
kept  only  by  lock  and  key,  or  the  most  distressing 
watch-care  of  almost  frantic  parents;  or  the  rigid, 
corpse-like  cataleptic,  as  believed,  the  girl  has  now 
become  mild,  docile,  polite  and  timid,  knowing 
none  of  the  family,  but  constantly  pleading  to  go 
home.  The  best  wisdom  of  the  family  was  used  to 
convince  her  that  she  was  at  home,  and  must  re- 
main. Weeping,  she  would  not  be  pacified,  and 
only  found  contentment  in  going  back  to  heaven, 
as  she  said,  for  short  visits. 

About  a  week  after  she  took  control  of  the  body, 
Mrs.  A.  B.  Roff  and  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Minerva 
Alter,  Mary^s  sister,  hearing  of  the  remarkable 
changie,  went  to  see  the  girl.  As  they  came  in  sight, 
far  down  the  street,  Mary,  looking  out  of  the  win- 
dow, exclaimed  exultingly,  "There  comes  my  ma 
and  sister  Nervie!"  the  name  by  which  Mary  used 
to  call  Mrs.  Alter  in  girlhood.  As  they  came  into 
the  house,  she  caught  them  around  the  necks,  wept 
and  cried  for  joy,  and  seemed    so    happy    to    meet 


THE  WATSEKA  WONDER  27 

them.  From  this  time  on  she  seemed  more  home- 
sick than  before.  At  times  she  seemed  almost  fran- 
tic to  go  home.  Finally  some  friends  of  the  family 
insisted  on  their  sending  her  to  Mr.  Ro£f*s,  which 
they  reluctantly  consented  to  do;  reluctantly  be- 
cause the  girl  was  so  much  trouble  and  care,  as  she 
had  been  all  winter;  so  much  so  that  Mrs.  Vennum 
was  nearly  prostrated,  and  could  not  have  surviv- 
ed the  care  and  anxiety  many  months  longer,  under 
the  same  state  of  affairs.  They  felt  that  it  would 
be  an  imposition  to  send  the  girl  to  be  cared  for  by 
strangers,  and  especially  so  by  Mrs.  Roff,  as  she  was 
not  able  to  take  charge  of  and  care  for  a  girl  that 
made  so  much  trouble  as  this  one  had  for  Mrs. 
Vennum. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Roff,  with  their  hearts  ever  full  of 
the  milk  of  human  kindness,  more  ready  to  forgive 
than  to  censure,  and  braving  the  sneers  and  taunt- 
ing innuendoes  of  an  uneducated  bigotry,  with  no 
other  motive  but  one  of  mercy  and  kindness,  opened 
their  doors  and  hearts  to  receive  the  unfortunate 
girl  with  her  new  control,  having  no  hope  or  desire 
for  reward  but  in  the  sense  of  a  just  sympathy  for 
right  and  truth.  They  remembered  the  precept, 
'Torget  not  to  entertain  strangers,  for  thereby 
some  have  entertained  angels." 

On  the  eleventh  day  of  February,  1878,  they  sent 
the  girl  to  Mr.  RoJfiF*s,  where  she  met  her  '*pa  and 
ma,"  and  each  member  of  the  family,  with  the 
most  gratifying  expressions  of  love  and  affection, 
by  words  and  embraces.  On  being  asked  how  long 
she  would  stay,  she  said,  "The  angels  will  let  me 
stay  till  sometime  in  May;"  and  she  made  it  her 
home  there  till  May  twenty-first  three  months  and 
ten  days,  a  happy  contented  daughter  and  sister  in 
a  borrow^ed  body. 

After  the  girl  was  at  Mr.  Roff's,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Baker  said  to  Mr.  Vennum,  '^I  think    you    will    see 


28  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

the  time  when  you  will  wish  you  had  sent  her  to 
the  asylum."  Mrs.  Jolly  said  if  she  ever  came  home 
she  would  be  more  thouble  than  ever.  Another 
relative,  more  religious  than  humane,  said,  *'I  would 
sooner  follow  a  girl  of  mine  to  the  grave  than  have 
her  go  to  Roff^s  and  be  made  a  Spiritualist.**  Dr. 
Jew^ett  called  it  catalepsy  number  two,  which  is  as 
definite  and  convenient  in  explanation  of  this  case 
as  is  *'humbug"  in  explanation  of  any  newly  dis- 
covered scientific  truth  unacceptable  to  popular 
ignorance.  He  said:  *'Humor  her  whims  and  she 
will  get  well."  Some  prudent,  two  faced  people 
would  say,  with  a  non-committal  air,  **What  strange 
freaks!"  Others,  with  an  exalted  opinion  of  their 
wonderful  perceptions,  would  say,  "It  is  all  put 
on,"  etc.,  etc.  Yet  none  of  the  persons  expressing 
such  opinions  had  ever  called  to  see  the  girl,  or 
derived  any  information  from  those  in  charge  of 
her. 

The  girl  now  in  her  new  home,  seemed  perfectly 
happy  and  content,  know^ing  every  person  and 
everything  that  Mary  knew  when  in  her  original 
body,  twelve  years  to  twenty-five  years  ago,  recog- 
nizing and  calling  by  name  those  who  w^ere  friends 
and  neighbors  of  the  family  from  1852  to  1865, 
when  Mary  died,  calling  attention  to  scores,  yes, 
hundreds  of  incidents  that  transpired  during  her 
natural  life.  During  all  the  period  of  her  sojourn 
at  Mr.  Roff's  she  had  no  knowledge  of,  and  did  not 
recognize  any  of  Mr.  Vennum*s  family  or  neigh- 
bors, yet  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Vennum  and  their  children 
visited  her  and  Mr.  Roff's  people,  she  being  intro- 
duced to  them  as  to  any  strangers.  After  frequent 
visits,  and  hearing  them  often  and  favorably  spoken 
of,  she  learned  to  love  them  as  acquaintances,  and 
visited  them  with  Mrs.  Roff  three  times.  From  day 
to  day  she  appeared  natural,  easy,  affable  and  in- 
dustrious, attending  diligently  and  faithfully  to  her 


THE  WATSEKA  WONDER  29 

household  duties,  assisting  in  the  general  work  of 
the  family  as  a  faithful,  prudent  daughter  might 
be  supposed  to  do,  singing,  reading  or  conversing 
as  opportunity  offered,  upon  all  matters  of  private 
or  general  interest  to  the  family. 

Three  days  after  she  came  to  Mr.  Roff's,  while 
looking  at  him  and  seeming  to  have  been  in  a  sort 
of  retrospective  revery,  she  asked,  "Pa,  who  was  it 
that  used  to  say  ^confound  it?'  "  and  laughing  very 
heartily  when  she  saw  that  he  understood  it  to  be 
himself,  that  being  a  common  expression  of  his  in 
the  time  of  her  girlhood,  twelve  years  ago. 

One  day  she  met  an  old  friend  and  neighbor  of 
Mr.  Roff,  who  was  a  widow  when  Mary  was  a  girl 
at  home.  Some  years  since  the  lady  married  a  Mr. 
Wagoner,  with  whom  she  yet  lives.  But  when  she 
met  Mrs.  Wagoner  she  clasped  her  around  the  neck, 
and  said,  **0  Mary  Lord,  you  lock  so  very  natural, 
and  have  changed  the  least  of  any  one  I  have  seen 
since  I  came  back."  Mrs.  Lord  was  in  no  way  re- 
lated to  the  Vennum  family,  and  lived  close  by 
them,  but  Mary  could  only  call  her  by  the  name  by 
w^hich  she  knew^  her  fifteen  years  ago  and  could 
not  seem  to  realize  that  she  was  married.  Mrs. 
Lord  lived  just  across  the  street  from  Mr.  Roff's  for 
several  years,  prior  and  up  to  within  a  few  months 
of  Mary's  death;  both  being  memebrs  of  the  same 
Methodist   church,  they  were  very  intimate. 

Some  days  after  Mary  was  settled  in  her  new 
home,  Mrs.  Parker,  who  lived  neighbor  to  the  Roff's 
in  Middleport  in  1852,  and  next  door  to  them  in 
Watseka  in  1860,  came  in  with  her  daughter-in- 
law,  Nellie  Parker.  Mary  immediately  recognized 
both  of  the  ladies,  calling  Mrs.  Parker  "Auntie 
Parker/'  and  the  other  "Nellie,"  as  in  the  acquaint- 
ance of  eighteen  years  ago.  In  conversation  w^ith 
Mrs.  Parker,  Mary  asked,  "Do  you  remember  how 
Nervie  and  I  used  to  come  to  your  house  and  sing?" 


30  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

Mrs.  Parker  says  that  it  was  the  first  allusion  made 
to  that  matter,  nothing  having  been  said  by  any  one 
on  that  subject,  and  says  that  Mary  and  Minerva 
used  to  come  to  their  house  and  sit  and  sing,  ^^Mary 
had  a  little  lamb,"  etc.  Mrs.  Dr.  Alter  (Minerva) 
says  she  remembers  it  well.  This  was  when  Mr. 
RofF  kept  the  postoffice,  and  could  not  have  been 
later  than  1852,  and  twelve  years  before  Lurancy 
w^as  bom. 

One  evening  in  the  latter  part  of  March,  Mr.  RofF 
w^as  sitting  in  the  room  waiting  for  tea,  and  read- 
ing the  paper,  Mary  being  out  in  the  yard.  He  ask- 
ed Mrs.  RofF  if  she  could  find  a  certain  velvet  head- 
dress that  Mary  used  to  wear  the  last  year  before 
she  died.  If  so,  to  lay  it  on  the  stand  and  say  noth- 
ing about  it,  to  see  if  Mary  would  recognize  it. 
Mrs.  RofF  readily  found  and  laid  it  on  the  stand. 
The  girl  soon  came  in  and  immediately  exclaimed 
as  she  approached  the  stand:  "Oh,  there  is  my 
head-dress  I  wore  when  my  hair  was  short!"  She 
then  asked  "Ma  where  is  my  box  of  letters?  Have 
you  got  them  yet?"  Mrs  RofF  replied,  "Yes,  Mary, 
I  have  some  of  them."  She  at  once  got  the  box  with 
many  letters  in  it.  As  Mary  began  to  examine  them 
she  said,  **Oh,  Ma,  here  is  a  collar  I  tatted!  Ma, 
why  did  you  not  show  to  me  my  letters  and  things 
before?"  The  collar  had  been  preserved  among 
the  relics  of  the  lamented  child  as  one  of  the  beau- 
tiful things  her  fingers  had  wrought  before  Lurancy 
was  born;  and  so  Mary  continually  recognized 
every  little  incident  of  her  girlhood. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  family  moved  to 
Texas  in  1857.  Mr.  Roff  asked  Mary  if  she  re- 
membered moving  to  Texas  or  anything  about  it. 
**Ye8,  pa,  and  I  remember  crossing  Red  River  and 
of  seeing  a  great  many  Indians,  and  I  remember 
Mrs.  Reeder*s  girls,  who  were  in  our  company." 
And  thus  she  from  time  to  time  made  first  mention 


THE  WATSEICA  WONDER  31 

of  things  that  transpired  thirteen  to  twenty-five 
years  ago.  On  the  nineteenth  of  February  Mr.  RoflF 
addressed  the  writer  as  follows: 

"You  know  how  we  took  the  poor,  dear  girl  Lurancy  (Mary). 
Some  appreciate  our  motives,  but  the  many,  without  investigation 
and  without  knowledge  of  the  facts,  cry  out  against  us  and  against 
the  angel  girl.  Some  say  she  pretends;  others  that  she  is  crazy; 
and  we  hear  that  some  say  it  is  the  devil.  *  *  *  Mary  is  perfectly 
happy;  she  recognizes  everybody  and  everything  that  she  knew 
when  in  her  body  twelve  or  more  years  ago.  She  knows  nobody 
nor  anything  whatever  that  is  known  by  Lurancy.  =^  *  *  Mr. 
Vennum  has  been  to  see  her,  and  also  her  brother  Henry,  at  dif- 
ferent times,  but  she  don't  know  anything  about  them.  Mrs.  Ven- 
num is  still  unable  to  come  and  see  her  daughter.  She  has  been 
nothing  but  Mary  since  she  has  been  here,  and  knows  nothing  but 
what  Mary  knew.  She  has  entered  the  trance  once  every  other 
day  for  some  days.  She  is  perfectly  happy.  *  *  *  You  don  t  - 
know  how  much  comfort  we  take  with  the  dear  angel.     (jl^^jjja^W''^ 

The  child  has  often  said  she  likes  Dr.  Stevens  next  tb 
her  father,  because  he  opened  the  gate  for  her  to  come 
in,  and  because  he  has  done  so  much  for  her  father  and 
mother,  and  her  brothers,  and  for  Lurancy's  body,  and 
feeling  that  gratitude,  she  wrote  him  a  letter  by  permis- 
sion of  her  parents,  on  the  twentieth  of  February,  in 
which  she  said: 

I  am  yet  here.  *  *  Frank  is  better.  *  *  Nervie  is  here  for 
dinner;  Alice  Alter  is  going  to  stay  all  night;  Mrs.  Marsh  was  here 
today  and  read  a  beautiful  letter  to  us.  I  wish  you  could  spend 
the  evening  with  us.  *  *  I  would  like  to  have  your  picture  to 
look  at.  *  *  Please  write  to  pa  when  you  get  time.  *  *  We  all 
send  our  love  to  you.  *  *  I  like  it  here  very  much,  and  am  going 
to  stay  all  the  time.  *  *  I  went  to  heaven  and  staid  about  an 
hour.  *  *  It  seems  a  long  time  since  I  saw  you.  *  *  *  Forget 
me  not.     Good  night.  MARY  ROFF. 

She  wrote  the  doctor  again  on  February  twenty-first, 

of  which  the  following  is  sui  extract: 

I  have  just  finished  a  letter  to  brother  Frank.  He  went  back 
to  his  store  feeling  quite  well.  The  boys  have  gone  out  to  play 
for  a  dance.  *  *  In  the  evening  I  went  to  heaven,  and  I  saw  some 
of  the  beautiful  things,  and  talked  with  the  angels,  "^  *  and  be 
sure  I  don't  forget  when  I  go  to  heaven  and  come  back.  *  * 
'Fear  the  Lord    *    *    depart  from  evil.' — Proverb  3:7. 

MARY  ROFF. 


32  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

It  may  have  been  said  it  was  frequently  the  case  that 
when  Mary  went  to  heaven,  as  she  called  it,  other  spirits 
sometimes,  by  permission,  would  come  and  present  them- 
selves, and  speak  freely  their  own  language  and  senti- 
ments. Mr.  Roff  writes  under  date  of  March,  as  follows, 
of  a  communication  through  another  young  lady  at  his 
house:  .... 

A  lady  came  through  at  our  house,   who  claimed  to 

have  have  lived  and  died  in  Tennessee,  and  says  she  was  afflicted 
from  eight  years  of  age  till  tw^enty-five,  when  she  died  w^ith  a  simi- 
lar disease,  and  in  a  similar  way  that  Mary  died.  She  says  that 
Mary  has  control  of  Lurancy  Vennum,  and  will  retain  control  until 
she  is  restored  to  her  normal  condition,  when  Mary  will  leave. 
Mary  is  happy  as  a  lark,  and  gives  daily,  almost  hourly,  proofs 
of  being  Mary's  intelligence.  She  don't  recognize  Lurancy's  fami- 
ly or  friends  at  all.  She  knows  and  recognizes  everything  that 
our  Mary  used  to  know,  and  nothing  w^hatever  of  what  the  Vennum 
girl  knows.  She  nov/  enters  the  trance  without  any  rigidity  of  the 
muscles  whatever,  very  gently,  and  at  her  own  will,  describes 
heavenly  scenes,  etc.,  etc.  We  think  all  will  be  w^ell,  and  Lurancy 
restored  to  her  orthodox  friends  yet.  *  *  Some  of  the  relatives 
are  yielding  by  Mary's  calling  their  attention  to  things  of  thirteen 
years  ago,  that  transpired  betw^een  her  and  them.  It  wakes  them 
up.  *  *  It  is  wonderful.  *  *  It  would  take  a  volume  to  give  the 
important  items  that  have  occurred. 

Mrs.  Dr.  Alter,  under  date  of  April  16,  1878,  writes 
of  Mary  as  follows: 

My  angel  sister  says  that  she  is  going  away  from  us  again  soon, 
but  she  says  she  will  be  often  with  us.  She  says  Lurancy  is  a 
beautiful  girl;  says  she  sees  her  nearly  every  day,  and  we  do  know 
she  is  getting  better  every  day.  Oh,  the  lessons  that  are  being 
taught  us  are  worth  treasures  of  rare  diamonds;  they  are  stamped 
upon  the  mind  so  firmly  that  heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away  be- 
fore one  jot  or  one  title  shall  be  forgotten.  *  *  *  I  have  learned 
so  much  that  is  grand  and  beautiful,  I  cannot  express  it;  I  am 
dumb.  *  *  *  A  few  days  ago  Mary  was  caressing  her  father  and 
mother,  and  they  became  a  little  tired  of  it,  and  asked  why  she 
hugged  and  kissed  them.  She  sorrowfully  looked  at  them,  and 
said,  "Oh,  pa  and  ma!  I  want  to  kiss  you  while  I  have  lips  to  kiss 
you  with,  and  hug  you  while  I  have  arms  to  hug  you  w^ith,  for  I 
am  going  back  to  heaven  before  long,  and  then  I  can  only  be 
with  you  in  spirit,  and  you  will  not  always  know  when  I  come, 
and  I  cannot  love  you  as  I  can  now.  Oh,  how  much  I  love 
you  aU!" 


THE  WATSEKA  WONDER  33 

Mary  wrote  to  Dr.  Stevens,  in  an  envelope  with  Mr. 
Roff,  under  date  of  May  seventh,  as  follows: 

Dear  Doctor: — I  thought  I  would  write  you.  I  am  at  Aunt 
Carrie's;  am  going  to  take  dinner  with  her.  *  *  *  Yesterday  I 
went  and  spent  the  day  with  Mrs.  Vennum.  She  had  a  dreadful 
headache  and  I  rubbed  it  away.  Pa  is  quite  busy  in  his  office 
today.  Ma  is  feeling  a  good  deal  better.  *  *  *  I  am  feeling  quite 
well,  except  my  breast  hurts  me  some  today.  It  commenced  hurt- 
ing me  last  night.  *  "^  *  I  treat  ma  in  the  morning  and  Nervie 
at  night  for  hard  colds  and  cold  feet.  We  all  went  to  the  Reform 
Club  last  Saturday.  Aunt  Carrie's  essay  was  splendid,  and  very 
affecting.  *  *  *  We  all  read  that  letter  in  the  "Religio-Philoso- 
phical  Journal"  from  your  daughter,  and  liked  it  very  much. 

MARY  ROFF. 
In  the  same  letter  Mr.  Roff  writes: 

I  want  to  give  you  a  little  scene;  time  Monday  morning,  May 
sixth;  place,  A.  B.  Roff's  office,  Watseka;  present,  A.  B.  Roff  at 
table  writing;  Frank  Roff  at  table  at  the  right  of  A.  B.  R.;  door 
behind  A.  B.,  and  a  little  to  the  left;  enters  unheard  the  person  of 
Lurancy  Vennum;  places  her  arm  around  the  neck  of  A.  B.  Roff, 
kissing  him  and  saying,  "Pa,  I  am  going  with  Mrs.  Vennum  to 
visit  today;"  A.  B.  Roff  looks  around  and  discovers  standing  in 
the  door  Mrs.  Vennum,  Lurancy's  mother,  looking  on  the  scene. 
The  girl  then  bade  an  affectionate  good-by  to  Frank;  A.  B.  R. 
asks:  How  long  will  you  stay?"  She  replies,  "Till  two  or  three 
o'clock."  Mrs.  Vennum  then  said  to  Mr.  Roff:  "If  she  does  not 
get  back  at  that  time,  don't  get  alarmed,  we  will  take  care  of  her. 
Exit  Mrs.  V.  and  the  girl.  Y'ou  don't  know  how  my  heart  aches 
for  that  poor  mother,  yet  she  is  much  happier  than  she  was  last 
winter   with   Lurancy   as   she  was.    *    *    * 

On  May  seventh,  the  day  of  writing  the  last  letter, 
Mary  called  Mrs.  Roff  to  a  private  room,  and  there  in 
tears  told  her  that  Lurancy  Vennum  was  coming 
back.  She  seemed  very  sad,  and  said  she  could  not 
tell  whether  she  was  coming  to  stay  or  not;  that  if 
she  thought  she  was  coming  to  stay,  she  would  want 
to  see  Nervie  and  Dr.  Alter  and  AUie  and  bid  them 
good-by.  She  sat  down,  closed  her  eyes  and  in  a  few 
moments  the  change  took  place,  and  Lurancy  had 
control  of  her  own  body.  Looking  w^ildly  around 
the  room  she  anxiously  asked: 

**Where  am  I?     I  was  never  here  before." 

Mrs.  Roff  replied: 


34  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

"You  are  at  Mr.  Roff*s,  brought  here  by  Mary  to 
cure  your  body." 

She  cried  and  said: 

"I  want  to  go  home.** 

Mrs.  Roff  asked  her  if  she  could  stay  till  her 
folks  were  sent  for. 

She  said: 

"No.** 

She  was  then  asked  if  she  felt  any  pain  in  her 
breast.  (This  was  during  the  period  that  Mery  was 
suffering  pain  in  the  left  breast;  continually  hold- 
ing her  hand,  pressing  it.)      She  replied: 

"No,  but  Mary  did.** 

In  about  five  minutes  the  change  was  again  made, 
and  Mary  came  overjoyed  to  find  herself  permitt- 
ed to  return,  and  called,  as  she  often  had,  for  the 
singing  of  her  previous  girlhood*s  favorite  song, 
'*We  are  Coming,  Sister  Mary.** 

The  child  seemed  possessed  of  all  the  natural 
affection  for  the  family  that  a  daughter  and  sister 
of  fine  feelings  and  cultured  tastes  might  be  sup- 
posed to  possess  after  an  absence  of  tw^elve  years  and 
she  often  took  occasion  to  demonstrate  that  affec- 
tion by  endearing  names  and  kindly  words.  When 
walking  with  Mrs.  Alder  her  sister  Nervie  as  she 
called  her,  she  would  say,  **Nervie,  my  only  sister 
put  your  arm  around  me.**  Or,  **Come,  Nervie, 
put  your  arm  around  me  and  we  will  take  a  little 
walk  in  the  garden  or  the  grove,  for  I  cannot  be 
with  you  much  longer  and  I  want  to  be  with  you 
every  minute  I  can.**  When  Mrs.  Alter  would  ask 
her  v/hen  or  w^here  she  w^as  going,  she  w^ould  say, 
"The  angels  tell  me  I  am  going  to  heaven,  but  I 
don*t  know  just  when.  Oh,  how  I  wish  you  could 
live  here  at  home  with  us  as  you  used  to  when  I 
was  here  before.**  She  thought  a  great  deal  of  Dr. 
Alter,  the  husband  of  her  sister,  but  could  hardly 
seem  to  realize  that  Nervie  was    married    and    had 


THE  WATSEKA  WONDER  35 

had  a  family  for  eleven  years.  She  said  when  she 
got  into  this  body  she  felt  much  as  she  did  when 
here  tw^elve  years  ago.  This  body  seemed  as  nat- 
ural to  her  as  though  she  had  been  bom  w^ith  it, 
yet  she  could  not  do  with  it  as  she  would  like  to. 
She  did  not  seem  to  realize  at  first,  but  that  this  was 
her  ow^n  original,  physical  body,  until  the  angels 
explained  it  to  her,  and  she  had  received  infor- 
mation and  instructions  from  her  parents,  sister, 
brother  and  friends  about  it.  So  natural  did  it 
seem  to  her,  after  know^ing  all  the  facts,  that  she 
could  hardly  feel  it  w^as  not  her  original  body  bom 
nearly  thirty  years  ago. 

In  conversation  w^ith  the  w^riter  about  her  for- 
mer life,  she  spoke  of  cutting  her  arm  as  hereinbe- 
fore stated,  and  asked  if  he  ever  saw  where  she  did 
it.  On  receiving  a  negative  answer,  she  proceed- 
ed to  slip  up  her  sleeve  as  if  to  exhibit  the  scar,  but 
suddenly  arrested  the  movement,  as  if  by  a  sudden 
thought,  and  quickly  said,  "Oh,  this  is  not  the  arm; 
that  one  is  in  the  ground,"  and  proceeded  to  tell 
/^  where  it  was  buried,  and  how  she  saw  it  done  and 

who  stood  around,  how  they  felt,  etc.,  but  she  did 
not  feel  bad.  I  heard  her  tell  Mr.  Roff  and  the 
friends  present,  how  she  wrote  to  him  a  message 
some  years  ago  through  the  hand  of  a  medium, 
giving  name,  time  and  place.  Also  of  rapping  and 
spelling  out  a  message  by  another  medium,  giving 
time,  name,  place  etc.,  etc.,  which  the  parents  ad- 
mitted to  be  true.  I  heard  her  relate  a  story  of  her  go- 
ing into  the  country  with  the  men,  some  tw^enty  odd 
years  ago,  after  a  load  of  hay,  naming  incidents 
that  occurred  on  the  road,  which  two  of  the  gentle- 
men distinctly  remembered. 

In  one  of  those  beautiful  trances  w^hich  rendered 
her  entirely  oblivious  to  all  physical  surroundings, 
appearing  in  a  state  of  happy  ecstasy,  and,  so  far 
as  manners  and  movements  are  concerned,  perfect- 


36  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

ly  normal  and  graceful,  with  visions  and  senses 
fully  open,  she  went  to  heaven  as  she  called  it,  in 
company  w^ith  another  young  lady  in  like  condition, 
whose  name  must  be  reserved  until  the  wonderful 
history  she  is  making,  shall  be  made  public  by  the 
consent  of  all.  They  saw  and  conversed  about  the 
beautiful  scenes  before  them,  pointing  out  individ- 
uals, giving  names,  relationship,  histories,  facts, 
etc.,  describing  places  and  things.  Mary  pointed 
out  and  described  some  with  titles  of  royalty,  such 
as  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  Henry  IV.,  King  of  France, 
and  others  of  equal  note,  showing  a  rich  biograph- 
ical and  historical  reading  or  experience  and  ac- 
quaintance in  spirit-life.  Then  bow^ing  low^,  and 
kneeling  with  hands  folded,  and  heads  together, 
as  if  in  the  most  devout  and  solemn  devotion  re- 
mained in  listening  silence  for  some  time,  then  ris- 
ing, the  unnamed  girl  said: 

"He  came  to  bless,  didn't  he,  Mary?  a  bright 
beautiful  angel." 

After  talking  of  the  different  classes  they  were 
observing,  and  the  "lovely  children"  attracting  so 
much  of  their  attention,  Mary  seemed  to  take  in  her 
arms  a  very  little,  tender  infant  and  said:  "This 
is  sister  Nervie's  baby;  how^  sw^eet  and  beautiful  it 
is.  Don't  you  think  it  is  a  sweet  little  angel?" 
The  other,  in  softest  accent  said,  "Yes,  but  it  seems 
to  me  they  are  all  too  pure  to  be  touched  by  such 
as  w^e,"  and  after  some  time  the  babe  w^as  carefully 
handed  back  to  the  care  of  the  angels.  Mrs.  Alter, 
who  was  present,  had  recently  lost  by  death,  a  beau- 
iful  babe  and  had  scarcely  recovered  from  her  con- 
finement. The  whole  scene  w^as  one  of  uncommon 
interest,  very  affecting  and  impressive  beyond  de- 
scription. 

For  the  discovery  of  facts  unknow^n  to  others, 
Mary  seemed  remarkably  developed.  One  after- 
noon, she,  with  much  concern    and    great    anxiety, 


THE  WATSEKA  WONDER  37 

declared  that  her  brother  Frank  must  be  carefully 
watched  the  coming  night,  for  he  would  be  taken 
very  sick,  and  would  die  if  not  properly  cared  for. 
At  the  time  of  this  announcement  he  was  in  his 
usual  heatlh,  and  engaged  w^ith  the  Roff  Bros.* 
band  of  music  up  town.  The  same  evening.  Dr. 
Stevens  had  been  in  to  see  the  family,  and  on  leav- 
ing was  to  go  directly  to  Mrs.  Hawks,  far  off  in  the 
Old  Town,  and  the  family  so  understood  it.  But 
at  about  nine  and  a  half  o'clock  the  same  evening, 
Dr.  Stevens  returned  unannounced  to  Mr.  Marsh's, 
Mr.  Roff's  next  neighbor,  for  the  night.  At  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning  Frank  w^as  attacked  w^ith 
something  like  a  spasm  and  congestive  chill,  which 
almost  distroyed  his  consciousness.  Mary  at  once 
saw^  the  situation  as  predicted,  and  said,  "Send  to 
Mrs.  Marsh's  for  Dr.  Stevens."  *'No,  Dr.  Stevens 
is  at  Old  Town,"  said  the  family.  **No,"  said  Mary, 
*'he  is  at  Mr.  Marsh's;  go  quick  for  him,  pa."  Mr. 
Roff  called,  and  the  doctor,  as  Mary  said,  was  at  Mr. 
Marsh's.  On  his  arrival  at  the  sick  bed,  Mary  had 
entire  control  of  the  case.  She  had  made  Mrs.  Roff 
sit  down;  had  provided  hot  water  and  cloths  and 
other  necessaries,  and  was  doing  all  that  could  be 
done  for  Frank.  The  doctor  seconded  her  efforts 
and  allowed  her  to  continue.  She  saved  her  brother, 
but  never  made  a  move  after  the  doctor's  arrival, 
w^ithout  his  co-operation  or  advice. 

Mary  often  spoke  of  seeing  the  children  of  Dr. 
Stevens  in  heaven,  w^ho  were  about  her  age  and  of 
longer  residence  there  than  herself.  She  said  she 
was  with  them  much,  and  went  to  his  home  with  him. 
She  correctly  described  his  home,  the  rooms  and 
furniture,  gave  the  names  and  ages  of  his  children, 
and  as  evidence  of  her  truthfulness,  told  of  a  re- 
markable experience  of  Mrs.  E.  M.  Wood,  one  of 
the  doctor's  married  daughter,  which,  on  account 
of  its  peculiar  features,  and  the  faith  of  some  of  the 


ni\x/>0'^0>^  • 


38  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

relatives  was  not  intended  for  the  public,  yet  was  a 
beautiful  evidence  of  angel  guardianship.  She  stat- 
ed the  story  minutely,  saying  that  was  where  and 
when  she  got  Mrs.  Wood's  name,  for  she  was  pres- 
ent with  others  she  named. 

The  doctor's  daughter  Emma  Angelia,  who  had 
been  in  spirit-life  since  March  10,  1849,  sought 
through  Mary  to  take  the  body  she  was  controlling 
and  go  home  with  her  father  to  Wisconsin,  to  visit 
the  family  for  a  week,  and  Mary  was  disposed  to  let 
her  do  it;  she  asked  Mr.  and  Mrs  Roff  if  she  should 
let  Emma  Stevens  have  the  body  for  a  week  to  go 
with  her  father  to  see  and  be  with  her  mother, 
sisters  and  brother,  so  they  could  realize  it  was 
Emma?     But  no  one  thought  it  advisable. 

To  show  the  ease  with  which  Mary  controls,  or 
goes  in  and  out,  as  it  is  said,  and  the  perfect  me- 
dium the  body  of  Lurancy  is,  a  single  instance  will 
suffice.  On  the  twenty-first  day  of  April,  in  the  par- 
lors of  Mrs.  Roff,  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Roff,  their  hired  woman  Charlotte,  Dr.  Steel  and 
wife,  Mrs.  Twing  of  Oregon,    Mrs.    Alter,    Mr.    and 

Mrs.  M ,  and  the  writer,  manifestations  of  a  very 

peculiar  and  happy  character  occurred.  Mary  be- 
ing the  last  one  to  join  the  company  in  the  parlor, 
took  the  only  vacant  seat,  next  to  a  gentleman 
friend.  Dr.  Steel  became  influenced  by  a  brother 
of  one  of  the  persons  present,  and  made  a  very  strik- 
ing address,  with  a  good  deal  of  energy  and  pathos. 
On  his  becoming  disentranced  and  entering  into  the 
general  conversation,  Mary  voluntarily  disembodied 
her  controlling  pow^er,  and  leaving  the  girl's  form 
like  a  corpse,  with  the  head  resting  against  the 
shoulder  of  her  friend,  immediately  took  control  of 
Dr.  Steel,  and  in  every  possible  way  required  prov- 
ed it  to  be  herself;  she  then  through  that  manly 
form,  turned  in  a  jovial  w^ay  and  laughed  at  the 
position  of  the  seemingly    untenanted    body    and  its 


THE  WATSEKA  WONDER  39 

limp  condition,  with  a  pleasant  jest  at  the  friend 
who  supported  it.  She  soon,  how^ever,  returned  to 
her  ow^n  proper  control  and  seemed  to  enjoy  the  trick 
she  had  played,  in  the  control  of  the  gentleman. 

In  a  few^  moments  she  appeared  peculiar,  and  call- 
ing the  hired  woman  to  follow  her,  they  left  the 
room.  Soon  she  returned  clad  in  an  old-fashioned 
way,  with  gown,  cap,  cape  and  spectacles,  etc.,  lean- 
ing on  the  arm  of  Charlotte  as  if  bowed  down  with 
many  years.  Not  one  trace  of  the  girl  could  be  seen 
save  in  the  youthful  skin  of  the  face.  Taking  a  seat 
in  the  old  arm  chair,  she  began  to  talk  as  an  old 
lady  of  olden  times  might  be  supposed  to  do,  rep- 
resenting herself  as  the  grand-mother  of  Charlotte, 
giving  her  name,  inquiring  after  all  the  relatives,  old 
and  young,  asking  by  name  for  those  belonging  to 
families  the  girl  could  have  know^n  nothing  about. 
Said  she  died  of  cancer  near  the  right  eye  and  tem- 
ple; called  for  tepid  water  and  soft  cloth,  which 
being  furnished,  proceeded  in  the  most  natural  man- 
ner to  bathe  and  dress  the  cancer.  She  called  for 
food  and  ate  it,  apparently  without  teeth,  smoked 
after  it,  as  she  used  to  do,  because  her  food  always 
hurt  her  if  she  did  not.  She  asked  for  knitting 
work.  It  being  furnished,  she  found  fault  because 
the  knitter  did  not  know  how  to  knit.  Raveling  out 
and  taking  up  again  she  knit,  at  the  same  time 
telling  Charlotte  how  to  knit  without  looking  at  it. 
She  next  asked  for  mending  and  other  things  to  do, 
looked  at  the  fabric  of  the  ladies*  dresses,  asking 
the  prices,  etc.,  etc.  She  looked  out  at  the  window, 
remarked  how  pleasant  a  place  it  was,  and  so  con- 
tinued for  a  full  hour,  never  for  a  moment  show^ing 
any  sign  of  deception,  but  a  veritable,  honest,  ex- 
perienced domestic  old  lady.  Numerous  other  per- 
sonalities might  be  related,  but  this  is  sufficient. 

When  inquired  of  as  to  form  materialization  she 
said  it  was  a  truth,  though    she    had    never    tried  it 


40  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

because  she  did  not    know    how,    but    should    learn 
how  w^hen  she  found  an  opportunity. 

During  her  stay  at  Mr.  RofF's  her  physical  con- 
dition continually  improved,  being  under  the  care 
and  treatment  of  her  supposed  parents  and  the  ad- 
vice and  help  of  her  physician.  She  w^as  ever  obe- 
dient to  the  government  and  rules  of  the  family,  like 
a  careful  and  wise  child,  always  keeping  in  the  com- 
pany of  some  of  the  family,  unless  to  go  in  to  the 
nearest  neighbors  across  the  street.  She  was  often 
invited  and  went  with  Mrs.  Roff  to  visit  the  first  fam- 
ilies of  the  city,  who  soon  became  satisfied  that  the 
girl  w^as  not  crazy,  but  a  fine,  w^ell-mannered  child. 

The  manner  in  w^hich  she  acted  for  a  considerable 
time  after  coming  into  Mr.  Roff's  family  was  very 
strange  to  many.  Sitting  dow^n  to  the  tea-table  on 
one  occasion,  Mrs.  Roff  said : 

"Now,  Mary,  what  shall  I  help  you  to?" 

She  answered: 

**Oh,  nothing,  I  thank  you,  ma.  Fll  go  to  heaven 
for  my  tea."  * 

Suiting  the  action  to  the  word  off  she  went  into 
a  quiet  trance  or  to  heaven  as  she  termed  it  and  so 
remained  till  the  family  had  eaten  when  she  return- 
ed to  her  normal  state.  Being  again  asked  she  said 
she  had  been  to  tea  and  the  question  was  put: 

'*Mary,  what  do  you  eat,  and  how  do  you  eat  it?" 

Her  answer  w^as: 
**0  ma,  if  I  could  tell,  you  could  not  understand  it." 

And  thus  for  some  time  she  only  ate  in  that  way, 
except  a  very  little  occasionally,  to  pacify  the  anx- 
ious family.  As  her  system  became  in  better  con- 
dition, she  ate  more  freely,  and  for  many  weeks  to- 
w^ards  the  last  she  ate,  drank  and  slept  as  a  healthy 
person  should. 

As  the  time  drew  near  for  the  restoration  of  Lu- 
rancy  to  her  parents  and  home,  Mary  would  some- 
times seem  to  recede  into  the  memory  and  manner  of 


THE  WATSEKA  WONDER  41 

Lurancy  for  a  little  time,  yet  not  enough  to  lose  her 
identity  or  permit  the  manifestation  of  Lurancy*s 
mind,  but  enough  to  show  she  was  impressing  her 
presence  upon  her  own  body. 

On  being  asked,  "Where  is  Lurancy?"  she  would 
say,  '*Gone  out  some  where,"  or,  *'She  is  in  heaven 
taking  lessons,  and  I  am  here  taking  lessons  too." 

On  Sunday,  May  nineteenth,  about  half-past  four 
o'clock  p.  m.,  Mr.  Roff  and  Mary  were  sitting  in  the 
parlor,  Henry  Vennum,  Lurancy's  brother,  being  in 
the  sitting  room,  another  room  and  hall  between. 
Mary  left  control,  and  Lurancy  took  full  possession 
of  her  own  body.  Henry  was  called  in  and  she  caught 
him  around  his  neck,  kissed  and  wept  over  him, 
causing  all  present  to  weep.  At  this  juncture  Mr. 
Roff  was  called  and  asked  Lurancy  if  she  could  stay 
till  Henry  could  go  and  bring  her  mother  (she  had 
expressed  a  desire  to  go  and  see  her  father  and 
mother.)  She  said,  "No,"  but  if  Henry  would  go 
and  bring  her,  she  would  come  again  and  talk  with 
her.  She  immediately  left  and  Mary  came  again. 
When  Mary  was  asked  where  she  had  been,  she  re- 
plied, *'l  have  seen  Dr.  Stevens  and  he  looks  as  good 
as  ever  again." 

Mrs.  Vennum  was  brought  w^ithin  an  hour,  and 
on  her  arrival,  Lurancy  came  into  full  control,  when 
one  of  the  most  affecting  scenes  ever  witnessed  took 
place.  Mother  and  daughter  embraced  and  kissed 
each  other,  and  wept  until  all  present  shed  tears  of 
sympathy ;  it  seemed  the  very  gate  of  heaven. 

On  the  morning  of  May  twenty-first,  Mr.  Roff 
w^rites  as  f ollow^s : 

Mary  is  to  leave  the  body  of  Rancy  today,  about  eleven  o'clock, 
so  she  says.  She  is  bidding  neighbors  and  friends  good-by.  Ran- 
cy to  return  home  all  right  today.  Mary  came  from  her  room 
upstairs  where  she  was  sleeping  with  Lottie,  at  ten  o'clock  last 
night,  lay  down  by  us,  hugged  and  kissed  us,  and  cried  because 
she  must  bid  us  good-by,  telling  us  to  give  all  her  pictures,  mar- 
bles and  cards,  and  twenty-five  cents  Mrs.  Vennum  had  given  her, 
to  Rancy,  and  had  us  promise  to  visit  Rancy  often.      She  tells  me 


42  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

to  write  to  Dr.  Stevens  as  follows:  "Tell  him  I  am  going  to 
heaven,  and  Rancy  is  coming  home  well."  She  says  she  will 
see  your  dear  children  in  spirit-life;  says  she  saw  you  Sunday  last. 
*  *  *  She  said  last  night,  weeping,  "Oh,  pa,  I  am  going  to 
heaven  tomorrow  at  eleven  o'clock,  and  Rancy  is  coming  back 
cured,  and  going  home  all  right."  She  talked  most  lovingly  about 
the  separation  to  take  place,  and  most  beautiful  was  her  talk 
about  heaven  and  home. 

Mrs.  Alter  writes: 

When  the  day  came,  and  the  angels  told  Mary  that  Lurancy 
was  coming  to  take  full  possession  of  her  body,  it  seemed  to  make 
her  feel  very  sad.  She  went  to  the  residences  of  Mr.  L.  C.  Marsh 
and  Mr.  M.  Hoober,  to  say  good-by,  telling  them  the  angels  had 
said  the  body  was  cured,  and  Lurancy  w^as  coming  to  go  home 
and  live  with  her  parents  again,  all  well;  yet  she  says,  "I  feel  sad 
at  parting  with  you  all,  for  you  have  treated  me  so  kindly;  you 
have  helped  me  by  your  sympathy  to  cure  this  body,  and  Rancy 
can  come  and  inhabit  it." 

This  shows  that  the  angels  can  help  the  children 
of  earth.  Mr.  M,  Hoober  being  a  pious  Christian 
gentleman,  and  loving  Mary  for  her  sweet  influence 
in  his  family,  came  into  the  room  and  asked  if  she 
would  like  to  sing  with  him  and  his  good  wife.  She 
said: 

"Yes,  I  am  so  sad,  but  when  I  go  to  heaven  all 
tears  shall  be  w^iped  aw^ay,  and  I  w^ill  be  happy.** 

After  singing  they  all  knelt  down,  and  Mr. 
Hoober  made  a  very  affecting  prayer,  saying,  *4f  it 
can  be  that  an  angel  is  in  our  midst,  and  about  to 
leave  us  and  go  and  join  her  ow^n  in  spirit-life,  w^ill 
God  in  his  goodness  allow^  her  to  bear  a  message  of 
love  to  my  angel  father  and  loved  ones  w^ho  may, 
for  all  w^e  can  see,  be  hovering  around  our  household 
at  this  moment.**  He  hoped  we  would  all  be  better 
and  w^iser,  and  when  Lurancy  should  come  back  to 
her  normal  condition,  w^ould  be  better  for  the  strange 
and  new^  lessons  she  has  learned. 

Mary  has  sent  word  to  her  sister  Nervie  to  come 
to  her  father*s  to  stay  an  hour  w^ith  her,  to  say  good- 
by,  and  w^hen  Rancy  should  come  back  at  eleven 
o'clock,  to  take  her  to  Mr.  Rof f *8  office,  and  he  would 


■7  '7 


THE  WATSEKA  WONDER  43 

go  to  Mr.  Vennum's  with  her.  Mary  said:  **I  will 
come  in  spirit  as  close  to  you  as  I  can,  and  comfort 
you  in  sorrow,  and  you  will  feel  me  near  you  some- 
times." 

When  eleven  o'clock  came  she  seemed  loth  to  go 
or  let  Rancy  go  back.  Mrs.  Altar  stai^ted  to  go 
home  and  Mary  started  with  her.  When  in  the  yard, 
Mrs.  A.  said:  "Mary,  you  have  always  done  as  you 
said  you  would,  but  as  I  don't  understand  these 
things,  w^ill  you  please  let  Lurancy  come  back  just 
now,  and  then  you  can  come  again  if  you  want  to?" 
Mary  said:  '*Yes,  I  will,"  and  she  kissed  mother  and 
sister  good-by. 

A  voice  said,  *'Why,  Mrs.  Alter,  where  are  we  go- 
ing?" Then  in  a  breath,  "Oh,  yes,  I  know,  Mary 
told  me!" 

On  the  way  they  met  Mrs.  Marsh  and  Mrs.  Hoober, 
who  were  the  nearest  neighbors  and  Mary's  favorite 
friends;  Lurancy  did  not  seem  to  know  them,  but  re- 
marked, **Mary  thinks  so  much  of  these  neighbors." 
Then  turning  to  Mrs.  Alter,  with  whom  Lurancy  had 
been  but  slightly  acquainted  two  years  ago,  she  said, 
^*Mrs  Alter,  Mary  can  come  and  talk  to  you  nearly 
all  the  way  home,  if  you  want  her  to,  and  then  I  will 
come  back."  She  spoke,  and  appeared  like  one 
slightly  acquainted.  Mrs.  Alter  said:  "I  have  trusted 
you  in  the  past,  and  of  course  I  would  love  to  talk 
with  my  sister." 

The  change  was  again  made,  and  Mary  said,  **I 
do  love  to  be  w^ith  you  so  much." 

She  talked  lovingly,  and  gave  good  advice  about 
many  things  and  family  matters.  The  final  change 
now^  took  place  at  the  time  predicted,  and  Lurancy 
stated  she  felt  something  as  though  she  had  been 
asleep,  yet  she  knew  she  had  not.  On  reaching  Mr. 
Roff's  office,  she  addressed  him  as  Mr.  Roff,  and 
asked  if  he  would  take  her  home,  which  he  did. 

May  twenty- second,  Mr.  Roff  writes  me  as  follows : 


,^ 


44  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

Thank  God  and  the  good  angels,  the  dead  is  alive  and  the  lost 
is  found.  I  mailed  you  a  letter  yesterday  at  half-past  ten  o'clock 
A.  M.,  stating  that  Mery  told  us  she  would  go  away,  and  Rancy 
return  at  eleven  o'clock  the  twenty-first  of  May.  Now  I  write 
you  that  at  half-past  eleven  o'clock  A.  M.,  Minerva  called  at  my 
office  with  Rancy  Vennum,  and  wanted  me  to  take  her  home, 
which  I  did.  She  called  me  Mr.  Roff,  and  talked  with  me  as  a 
young  girl  would,  not  being  acquainted.  1  asked  her  how  things 
appeared  to  her — if  they  seemed  natural.  She  said  it  seemed  like 
a  dream  to  her.  She  met  her  parents  and  brother  in  a  very  af- 
fectionate manner,  hugging  and  kissing  each  one  in  tears  of  glad- 
ness. She  clasped  her  arms  around  her  father's  neck  a  long  time, 
fairly  smothering  him  w^ith  kisses.  I  saw^  her  father  just  now 
(eleven  o'clock).  He  says  she  has  been  perfectly  natural,  and 
seems  entirely  well.  You  see  my  faith  in  w^riting  you  yesterday 
morning   instead  of  w^aiting  till  she   came. 

The  Watseka  "Republican"  says: 

The  meeting  with  her  parents  at  the  home  was  very  affecting, 
and  now^  she  seems  to  be  a  healthy,  happy  little  girl,  going  about 
noting  things  she  saw  before  she  was  stricken,  and  recognizes 
changes  that  have  since  taken  place.  This  is  a  remarkable  case, 
and  the  fact  that  we  cannot  understand  such  things,  does  not  do 
away  with  the  existence  of  these  unaccountable  manifestations. 

The  Danville  (111.)  "Times,"  in  speaking  of  this  case, 
says: 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Roff  are  Spiritualists,  and  stoutly  maintain  that 
their  daughter's  ability  to  penetrate  closed  books  and  letters  in 
the  manner  indicated,  was  imparted  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  un- 
seen world.  We  have  no  fixed  opinion  as  to  w^hether  Spiritualism 
is  false  or  true.  Certain  it  is,  that  occurrences  are  upon  record 
which  are  hard  to  explain  upon  any  natural  hypothesis,  but  at- 
tributable to  spirits'  aid.  Let  those  say  w^ho  know,  for  we  do  not. 
In  spite  of  all  opposition,  Spiritualists  have  increased  in  numbers, 
nor  are  they  confined  to  the  illiterate  classes,  but  embrace  poets, 
scholars  and  statesmen.  Let  us  hope  the  unharmful  truth  will 
early  assert  a  glorious  reign,  and  illuminate  the  darkened  under- 
standing of  men. 

The  Iriquois  County  (111.)  "Times,"  under  the  head 
of  **Mesmeric  Mysteries,"  and  in  reference  to  Luran- 
cy  Vennum  says: 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Roff  kindly  offered  to  take  charge  of  her  until 
her  mind  would  change,  and  she  would  become  well  again.  She 
w^ent  there  in  February,  and  remained  till  about  three  weeks  ago. 
Since  then  she  has  been  Lurancy  Vennum,  and  is  healthy  and  full 
of  intelligence.  *  *  It  was  hard  for  even  the  most  skeptical  not 
to   believe   there   was   something   supernatural   about   her.      If   she 


THE  WATSEKA  WONDER  45 

was  not  prompted  by  the  spirit  of  Mary  Roff,  how  could  she  know 
•o  much  about  the  family,  people  with  whom  she  was  not  ac- 
quainted, and  whom  she  had  never  visited?  *  *  No  stranger 
would  have  suspected  her  of  being  the  victim  of  disease,  though 
her  eyes  were  unusually  bright.  *  *  There  are  yet  numberles* 
mysteries  in  this  world,  though  science  has  dissipated  many  won- 
ders, and  philosophy  has  made  plain  many  marvels.  There  is 
much  that  is  unaccountable  in  the  action  of  spiritualistic  mediums, 
and  they  do  many  things  that  puzzle  the  greatest  philosophers. 
Skeptical  and  unbelieving  as  we  are,  and  slight  as  our  experience 
has  been,  we  have  seen  enough  to  convince  us  that  Spiritualism 
is  not  all  humbug.  The  case  of  Lurancy  Vennum,  a  bright  young 
girl  of  fourteen  years,  has  been  the  subject  of  much  discussion 
in  Watseka  during  the  past  year,  and  there  is  a  good  deal  in  it 
beyond  human  comprehension. 

The  subject  of  this  article  has  become  familiar  with 
the  writer  during  the  several  months  she  was  under  his 
advice  and  the  more  kindly  care  and  sympathy  of  Mr. 
Roff's  family,  speaking  with  him  freely  upon  every  sub- 
ject necessary  to  her  good  and  the  courtesies  of  associ- 
ation, always,  however,  in  the  presence  of  members  of 
the  family.  On  Sunday,  the  second  day  of  June,  he  met 
her  with  her  parents  at  the  house  of  a  friend,  who  lived 
nearly  two  miles  from  Mr.  Vennum's.  Lurancy  was  in- 
troduced to  him  by  Mr.  Vennum.  She  seemed  to  be  an 
entire  stranger,  and  for  two  hours  remained  like  a  timid, 
unacquainted  child.  The  next  day,  June  the  third,  with- 
out notice  to  any  one,  the  writer  went  to  the  house  of  a 
noted  attorney,  and  as  he  enered  the  gate,  Liwancy  came 
out  the  door, stopped  on  the  steps  and  said,  **Howdoyou 
do,  Doctor?  Mary  Roff  told  me  to  come  here  and  meet 
you.  Somehow  she  makes  me  feel  you  have  been  a  very 
kind  friend  to  me;"  and  she  would  not  let  him  into  the 
house  until  she  had  delivered  a  long  message  from  Mary. 
Since  the  last  interview  he  heis  seen  her  several  times,  and 
she  seems  easy,  siffable,  and  as  a  young  lady  should. 

On  the  twenty-fifth  of  June  she  wrote  a  beautiful  letter, 
by  the  consent  of  her  friends,  saying  among  other  things : 

Dear  Doctor: — I  am  feeling  quite  well  today.  I  was  up  to 
Mrs.  Alter's  today;  she  is  very  well  at  present.  This  afternoon 
I  called  at  Mr.  Roff's  office,  and  had  quite  a  long  talk  with  him; 
but  of  course  it  was  about  thei  loving  angels  that  you  and  I  love 


46  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

so  well.  Let  them  twine  around  your  neck  their  arms  and  press 
upon  your  brow  their  kiss.    *    *    *    Well,  Doctor,  you  have  many 

dear  friends  in  this  city  who  love  you  much.      I  saw  Mrs.  M. , 

She  said  she  would  have  died  if  it  had  not  been  for  you,  and  you 

know  about  Mrs.   I .     We  know  you   saved  her  life.    *    *    * 

Kiss  your  loving  wife  for  me,  and  tell  her  we  shall  all  meet  in 
heaven  if  not  on  earth.  *  *  =^  I  shall  visit  Mrs.  Roff  tomorrow. 
*  *  *  I  shall  have  my  picture  taken  and  send  it  to  you  in  my 
next  letter.  I  get  up  early  and  take  the  morning  air.  I  should 
like  to  have  you  write  a  line  to  me. 

Your  friend, 

LURANCY  VENNUM. 

This  letter,  written  in  pencil,  is  very  different  in  its 
make-up  aind  penmanship  form  those  written  by  the 
same  hand,  signed  by  Maxy  Roff,  and  gives  evidence  of 
another  mind. 

Since  penning  the  foregoing,  the  writer  has  received 
the  following  letter  from  the  mother  of  Lurancy,  through 
the  politeness  of  Mr.  Roff: 

Watseka,  111.,  July  9,  1878. 
Dear  Friend: — Mary  L.  Vennum  is  perfectly  and  entirely  well, 
and  perfectly  natural.  For  two  or  three  weeks  after  her  return 
home,  she  seemed  a  little  strange  to  what  she  had  been  before 
she  was  taken  sick  last  summer,  but  only,  perhaps,  the  natural 
change  that  had  taken  place  within  the  girl,  and  except  it  seemed 
to  her  as  though  she  had  been  dreaming  or  sleeping,  etc.  Luran- 
cy has  been  smarter,  more  intelligent,  more  industrious,  more 
womanly  and  more  polite  than  before.  We  give  the  credit  of  her 
complete  cure  and  restoration  to  her  family,  to  Dr.  E.  W.  Stevens 
and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Roff,  by  their  obtaining  her  removal  to  Mr 
Roff's  where  her  cure  w^as  perfected.  We  firmly  believe  that  had 
she  remained  at  home,  she  w^ould  have  died,  or  we  would  have 
been  obliged  to  send  her  to  the  insane  asylum,  and  if  so,  that  she 
would  have  died  there  and  further,  that  I  could  not  have  lived 
but  a  short  time  with  the  care  and  trouble  devolving  on  me. 
Several  of  the  relatives  of  Mary  Lurancy,  including  ourselves,  now 
believe  she  was  cured  by  spirit  power,  and  that  Mary  Roff  con- 
trolled the  girl.  MRS.   LURINDA  VENNUM. 

On  the  tenth  of  July  Mr.  Roff  writes: 

Dear  Doctor: — Mr.  Vennum  is  out  of  town,  but  I  have  often 
talked  with  him,  and  I  know  his  opinion,  often  expressed,  that 
Lurancy  and  her  mother  would  both  have  died  if  we  had  not 
taken  the  girl;  he  gives  all  credit  to  yourself  and  us  for  it.  He 
believes  it  was  spirit  agency  that  did  the  work.  Lurancy  is  in 
perfect  health,  and   "much   more  womanly  than   before"    (so   her 


THE  WATSEKA  WONDER  47 

mother  says).  She  says  she  used  to  romp  and  play  with  her 
brothers,  and  with  the  horses,  etc.  Now  she  is  steady;  you  can 
hardly  imagine  how  the  dear  girl  loves  those  who  saved  her.  She 
sends  you  a  letter  today,  but  thinks  it  a  little  strange  you  have 
not  answered  her  last  letter.      Yours,   etc.,  A.   B.   Roff. 

In  the  foregoing  letter  referred  to,  the  child  writes: 

I  am  quite  well,  and  much  obliged  that  you  showed  my  letter 
to  your  dear  w^ife.  I  am  sure  there  is  nothing  for  me  to  be  asham- 
ed of.  *  *  *  I  was  down  to  Mr.  M's  store,  and  he  told  me  you 
saved  his  wife's  life,  and  they  appreciate  it.  Will  you  want  me 
to  give  you  my  description  of  heaven?  I  w^ill  sometime,  when 
there  are  but  few  present.  I  can't  write  it,  for  I  make  so  many 
mistakes.  I  made  a  short  call  at  Mrs.  Alter's.  *  *  *  Please  ask 
your  daughter  to  write  to  me.  Can't  you  bring  your  wife  when 
you  come?  Poor  Mr.  Wickersham  still  lives.  We  should  pity 
such  mortals.  My  aunt  says  I  know  all  that  has  transpired,  but 
none  know  but  the  angels  and  you.      Your  friend, 

MARY  L.  VENNUM. 

CORROBORATION  OF  THE  NARRATIVE  BY 
LEADING  WITNESSES 

On  the  evening  of  the  sixteenth  of  July,  1878,  in 
the  parlors  of  Asa  B.  Roff  and  his  wife,  we,  the  un- 
dersigned, met  and  listened  to  the  careful  reading 
and  consideration  of  the  foregoing  narrative,  and 
declare  it  to  be  entirely  true  and  correct  in  every 
respect;  and  further,  that  now  after  eight  weeks  of 
home  life,  Lurancy  Vennum  remains  well  and  sound 
in  body  and  mind. 

(Signed)  ASA.  B.  ROFF, 

ANN  ROFF, 
THOMAS  J.VENNUM, 
LURINDA  VENNUM. 

Watseka,  Iroquois  Co.,  111., 
July  18,  1878. 

To  the  Reader: — The  writer  has  collected  the  fore- 
going facts  from  a  mass  of  interesting  incidents, 
which  might  be  much  enlarged  upon,  but  he  is  satis- 
ed  with  the  few  incidents  that  involve  principles 
hitherto  discussed  by  the  philosophic  world,  and 
sends  them  out  to  make  a  chapter  in  the  literature 


48  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

of  Spiritualism.  He  has  this  day  seen  the  family, 
including  the  subject  of  the  narrative.  Mrs.  Vennum 
has  gone  to  Indiana  for  a  week^s  rest  and  visit,  and 
left  Lurancy  in  charge  of  the  family  and  house,  a 
healthy,  happy,  noble  girl. 

E.  WINCHESTER  STEVENS. 
July  19,  1878. 

SUPPLEMENTARY 
STATEMENT  BY  ASA  B.  ROFF 

To  the  Editor  of  the  **Religio-Philosophical  Journal:*' 
Being  almost  daily  in  receipt  of  letters  from  read- 
ers of  the  "Journal,"  inquiring  as  to  the  truthfulness 
of  the  narrative  entitled,  *'The  Watseka  Wonder,** 
and  not  having  time  to  fully  answer  all  their  ques- 
tions, I  am  impelled  to  collect  from  them  the  promi- 
nent points  of  inquiry  and  objection,  and  briefly  re- 
ply through  the  ^*Journal.'*  Persons  hereafter  writ- 
ing me,  who  do  not  receive  an  answer  to  their  letters, 
will  seek  for  the  informatioon  desired  in  this  article. 
One  writer  inquires:  "Is  it  a  fact,  or  is  it  a  story 
made  up  to  see  how  cunning  a  tale  one  can  tell?** 
Another  asks:  '*Can  the  truthfulness  of  the  narrative 
be  substantiated  outside  of  yourself  and  those  im- 
mediately interested?  Can  it  be  shown  that  there 
w^as  no  collusion  between  the  parties,  and  no  former 
acquaintance?**  A  reader  of  the  ** Journal**  suggests: 
"It  is  a  pretty  big  yarn,  and  there  might  be  some  ar- 
rangement between  the  parties,  or  they  themselves 
deceived.**  Another  after  saying  he  has  read  the 
narrative,  remarks:  *'l  confess  that  I  am  not  of  your 
faith,  and  I  am  very  doubtful  whether  newspapers 
are  always  embodiments  of  sacred  truths,  and  I  wish 
that  under  your  hand,  as  a  gentleman,  you  might 
confirm  to  me  and  other  doubting  friends,  the 
strange,  mysterious,  and  to  me,  fanciful,  statements 
m  those  two  papers.  I  write  wholly  to  overcome  a 
doubting    feeling    that    exists     within    myself    and 


THE  WATSEKA  WONDER  49 

friends  in  regard  to  that  remarkable  and  wonderful 
personation."  A  lady  writes:  **Is  the  accounft  true 
in  every  particular?  I  hope  there  is  a  life  beyond 
this,  but  I  have  never  had  any  proof." 

Reply 

I  furnished  Dr.  Stevens  with  all  the  material  facts 
in  the  case,  except  such  as  w^ere  w^ithin  his  ow^n 
knowledge.  The  history  of  the  Vennum  family  (and 
Lurancy*s  condition  up  to  the  time  he  and  1  went  to 
see  her  January  31st),  I  obtained  from  the  members 
thereof,  and  the  neighbors  intimately  acquainted 
w^ith  them.  The  narrative,  as  written  by  Dr.  Stevens, 
is  substantially  true  in  every  point  and  particular, 
yet  the  half  has  not  been  told,  and  never  can  be;  it 
is  impossible  for  pen  to  describe  or  language  portray 
the  wonderful  events  that  transpired  during  the 
memorable  fourteen  weeks  that  the  girl  was  at  our 
house.  The  material  facts  of  the  case  can  be  sub- 
stantiated by  disinterested  w^itnesses,  whose  veracity 
cannot  be  questioned,  and  w^hose  evidence  w^ould  set- 
tle in  a  court  of  law.  I  refer  you  to  Robert  Doyle, 
Charles  Sherman,  S.  R.  Hawks,  Lile  Marsh,  J.  M. 
Hoober,  and  their  wives,  and  to  Mrs.  Mary  Wagoner, 
formerly  Mary  Lord,  all  residents  of  Watseka.  As 
to  "collusion,"  ^^arrangement,"  or  **ourselves  being 
deceived,"  that  is  simply  impossible,  as  you  will  see 
if  you  carefully  read  the  whole  narrative  over  again. 
I,  too,  doubt  whether  newspapers  are  always  ''em- 
bodiments of  sacred  truths,"  but  in  this  case  I  assure 
the  writer,  the  '^Journal"  does  embody  a  very  sacred 
truth,  that  of  man's  immortality.    *    *    '•' 

Talking  with   Mary,   we  sometimes  spoke  of  her 

(death.     She  would  quickly  reply:  "I  never  died,"  or 

\**I  did  not  die."     She  never  tired  of  talking  of  the 

life  beyond  this.     She  would  at  any  time  leave  her 

play,  her  reading  or  her  jovial  companions,  to  talk 

with  her  '*pa"  or  "ma"  about  heaven  and  the  angels. 


50  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

as  she  termed  spirit-life,  and  spirits  that  have  left 
the  body. 

I  have  questioned  Lurancy  Vennum  on  different 
occasions,  as  to  whether  she  remembered  anything 
that  occurred  during  the  time  that  Mary  had  control 
of  her  organism,  and  she  stated  that  a  very  few 
things  occurring  the  last  month  that  she  was  con- 
trolled, she  recollects,  but  that  in  all  cases  the  infor- 
mation was  imparted  by  Mary. 

In  conclusion,  let  me  say  to  those  who  doubt  or 
disbelieve  the  '^strange,  mysterious  and  w^onderful 
story:"  Call  to  mind  Lurancy*s  condition  at  her  home 
last  January,  surrounded  with  all  the  kind  care  of 
parents,  friends  and  physicians,  every  thing  done  to 
alleviate  her  suffering  and  perform  a  cure  that  hu- 
man minds  and  hands  could  possibly  do,  yet  growing 
continually  worse  (if  that  were  possible),  given  up 
by  her  physicians,  her  friends  without  a  ray  of  hope, 
the  insane  asylum  ready  to  receive  her,  a  condition 
terrible  to  behold!  Then  view  her  condition  from 
May  twenty-first  until  today,  over  three  months,  a 
bright,  beautiful,  happy,  healthy  girl,  and  then  tell 
me  what  produced  the  change.  The  narrative  furn- 
ishes the  facts;  account  for  them  if  you  can  on  any 
other  hypothesis,  than  power  exercised  through  or 
by  the  spirit  of  Mary  Roff  having  control  of  Luran- 
cy*s  body. 

I  am  now^  sixty  years  old;  have  resided  in  Iroquois 
county  thirty  years,  and  would  not  now  sacrifice 
what  reputation  I  may  have  by  being  a  party  to  the 
publication  of  such  a  narrative,  if  it  w^as  not  per- 
fectly true.  If  any  should  desire  testimonials  of  my 
standing.  Colonel  Bundy  has  some  to  use  as  he  deems 
best.  ASA  B.  ROFF. 

Watseka,  III., 

August  23,  1878. 


THE  WATSEKA  WONDER  51 

("Religio-Philosophical   Journal,"   August  31,    1878). 

HONORABLE  MENTION  OF  ASA  B.  ROFF 

The  naone  of  this  gentleman  has  lately  become  of  much 
interest  to  our  readers  in  connection  with  the  case  of  Lu- 
fancy  Vennum.  From  a  somewhat  lengthy  biographical 
sketch  of  Mr.  Roff,  published  last  January  in  the  "Iro- 
quois County  Times,"  a  paper  printed  at  Watseka,  we 
make  the  following  extracts: 

*  *  *  A  gentleman  now  in  his  sixtieth  year,  though  with  a 
heart  as  young  and  happy  as  that  of  a  child;  agreeable,  generous 
and  full  of  sympathy,  he  is  respected  by  all  who  know  him,  while 
his  more  intimate  friends  love  and  honor  him  for  his  personal 
worth.  *  *  *  His  present  enviable  standing  among  his  fellow- 
men  is  entirely  owing  to  his  indomitable  energy  and  integrity  of 
purpose.  His  family  is  a  most  exemplary  one;  all  who  know  them 
love  them;  no  family  in  our  community  are  more  happy  in  their 
domestic  relations.      May  it  ever  be  so  with  them. 

The  above  extracts  in  connection  with  the  following 
letters,  would  seem  to  establish  Mr.  Roff^s  reputation  for 
truth  amd  veracity  beyond  aJl  question: 

Watseka,  111.,  Aug.  22,  1878. 
Editor  "Religio-Philosophical  JournaJ:** 

Dear  Sir: — Many  inquiries  are  made  of  me  as  to  the 
standing  of  Mr.  Asa  B.  Roff.  These  questions  are  elicited 
through  the  publication  in  your  Journal  of  Dr.  E.  W. 
Stevens's  account  of  Mary  Roff  and  Lurancy  Vennum 
phenomena.  I  wish  to  say  to  you  that  no  man  in  this 
community  stands  higher  in  the  estimation  of  the  people 
than  Mr.  Roff.  He  is  a  high-minded,  honorable  gentle- 
man who  would  spurn  to  give  currency  to  any  thing  not 
verified  by  facts.  I  don't  believe  Mr.  Roff  capable  of 
a  mean  act.     It  is  not  in  his  nature.      Very  truly  yours, 

MATTHEW  H.  PETERS. 
Mayor  of  Watseka,  and  Editor  ^'Iroquois  Times." 

Chicago,  m.,  Aug.  22,  1878. 


V  y.  QF  I.,  mm?. 


bl  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

I  have  been  personsJly  acquainted  with  Asa  B.  RofiF 
since  the  year  1S58,  and  take  pleasure  in  stating  that  his 
character  and  reputation  for  truth  eoid  veracity  is  good. 

CHARLES  H.  WOOD. 
(Elx- Judge)  Twentieth  Circuit  of  Illinois. 
122  La  Salle  Street. 

We  have  also  received  letters  speaking  in  the  highest 
terms  of  Mr.  RofF  eoid  family,  from  the  following  gentle- 
men of  Watseka:  O.  F.  McNeill,  Elx-County  Judge;  O.  C. 
Munhall,  Postmaster;  Robert  Doyle,  Attorney-at-Law; 
John  W.  Riggs,  Circuit  Clerk;  Henry  Butzow,  County 
Clerk;  Thomas  Vennum,  former  Circuit  Clerk;  Franklin 
Blades,  Judge  of  the  Elleventh  Judicial  Circuit;  M.  B. 
^' right,  County  Judge. 
Editor  "Religio-Philosophical  Journal:" 

Editorial  Note! — Believing  that  those  who  read 
the  account  of  Lurancy  Vennum's  case  as  published 
eight  years  ago,  as  well  as  thousands  who  will  now 
read  it  for  the  first  time,  would  be  interested  in  tra- 
cing the  subject  of  such  unusual  experiences  through 
succeeding  years,  the  publisher  addressed  a  letter 
of  inquiry  to  Mr.  A.  B.  Roff.  That  gentleman  hav- 
ing secured  such  information  as  he  could  from  her 
parents  and  others,  adds  it  to  his  own  and  brings 
the  history  of  Lurancy  Vennum  dow^n  to  date.  His 
statement  as  given  below  can  be  fully  substantiated 
and  is  entitled  to  confidence. 

Watseka,  111.,  Dec.  4,  1886. 

In  your  letter  to  me  of  November  ninth,  you  said: 
"On  July  16,  1878,  you  and  others  certified  to  Lurancy  Ven- 
num's good  health  and  sound  mind.  Will  you  give  me  a  brief 
statement  of  her  history  from  then  until  now?  Has  she  had  any 
return  of  symptoms?  Is  she  a  medium  now,  or  has  she  been  since 
1878,  at  any  time?  What  is  the  state  of  her  health,  and  what 
has  it  been  since  1878?  Has  she  any  remembrance  of  her  old 
experience   while    controlled    by    the    spirits?" 

For  convenience  I  will  not  answer  queries  categorically,  but 
in  narrative  form.  Lurancy  Vennum  continued  to  reside  with  her 
parents  in  Watseka  and  vicinity,  from  May,   1878 when  she  re- 


THE  WATSEICA  WONDER  53 

turned  home  from  our  house until  January   1,    1882,  when  «ho 

'was  married  to  George  Binning,  a  farmer  living  three  miles  from 
Watseka,  where  they  resided  until  they  moved  West  in  September, 
1884,  and  they  are  now  living  in  Rollins  County,  Kansas. 

We  met  her  often  before  we  went  West  in  June,  1879,  and 
every  year  thereafter  until  they  moved  West  in  1 884,  whenever 
opportunity  afforded  during  our  annual  visits  to  Watseka;  and 
then  Mary  would  take  control  of  Lurancy  just  as  she  did  during 
the  time  she  was  at  our  home  in  1878;  we  thus  enjoyed  many 
happy  seasons  together.  Aside  from  this  she  had  little  oppor^ 
tunity  of  using  her  mediumship,  her  parents  being  afraid  to  con- 
verse with  her  upon  the  subject  lest  it  should  cause  a  return  of 
the  "spells"  (as  they  called  them),  such  as  she  had  before  Mary 
brought  her  to  our  house.  Her  husband,  never  having  made  him- 
self acquainted  with  Spiritualism,  furnished  poor  conditions  for 
farther  development  in  that  direction;  this,  with  the  fact  that  her 
many  household  cares  and  busy  life,  together  with  the  charge  of 
her  children,  has  made  the  exercise  of  her  mediumship  extremely 
dfBcult,  except  when  she  was  thrown  in  the  society  of  our  family 
or  others  who  chanced  to  furnish  the  necessary  conditions. 

Lurancy  has  what  might  be  called,  perhaps,  a  "remembrance" 
of  her  old  experience  while  controlled  by  the  spirit.  She  always 
speaks  of  it  thus:  "Mary  told  me,"  or  "Mary  made  me  acquaint- 
ed," etc.  She  became  acquainted  with  several  persons  while  Mary 
controlled  her,  who  were  entire  strangers  to  Lurancy  Vennum. 
When  the  control  left  her,  she  continued  the  acquaintance  thus 
formed,  and  has  ever  had  a  warm  attachment  for  them.  Mary, 
she  says,  told  her  these  were  good  people,  etc.  She  has  never 
had  any  occasion  for  a  physician  since  she  left  us — never  having 
been  sick  since  then;  neither  has  there  been  a  return  of  the  old 
symptoms — no  pain,  no  fits — in  short,  "she  is  clothed  and  in  her 
right  mind."  That  the  spirit-world  has  charge  concerning  her, 
let  the  following  forever  settle,  which  can  be  fully  substantiated  by 
reliable  witnesses:  At  the  birth  of  her  first  child  she  was  entranc- 
ed, her  eyes  were  turned  heavenward,  a  beautiful  smile  played 
over  her  face,  the  work  of  deliverance  w^ent  on  painlessly,  and 
not  until  the  new^  soul  voiced  its  presence,  did  she  show  any  sign 
of  consciousness  of  w^hat  had  occurred.  She  then  said:  "Why, 
what  is  that?"     When  she  was  informed  it  was  her  baby,  she  said: 

"Is  that  so?"      And  was  overjoyed  to  think  that  the  Father God 

should    send    an    angel    to    stand    betw^een    her    and    that    agony 

which  every  mother-soul  so  well  understands. 

I  deem  it  a  duty  since  Dr.  E.  W.  Stevens  has  passed  to  the 
higher  life,  to  relate  an  occurrence  that  would  have  been  published 
in  the  "Watseka  Wonder"  at  first,  had  it  not  been  for  Doctor's 
unwillingless  to  have  anything  in  that  publication  rest  wholly  up- 
on his  individual  testimony  for  proof.  When  Lurancy  had  been 
at  our  house  under  Mary's  control  about  six  or  eight  weeks  she 


54  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

tald  to  Dr.    Stevens   in   our  presence: 

"You  are  going  to  get  a  letter  from  heaven." 

He   asked,    "When?" 

"I  don't  know;  but  you  will  get  one,"  she  replied. 

Two  or  three  weeks  later  Dr.  Stevens  again  came  to  our  house 
and  then  related  to  Lurancy  (Mary)  and  us  that  he  had  received 
the  letter  at  some  place  where  he  stayed  over  night.  He  saw  in 
the  morning  while  making  his  toilet  a  letter,  seemingly  hanging 
in  the  air,  yet  in  plain  writing,  and  signed  by  a  noted  French 
physician  (whose  name  we  have  forgotten),  who  died  many  years 
ago.  The  letter  contained  directions  for  treating  a  physical  ail- 
ment of  Lurancy,  which  Dr.  S.,  had  lost  sight  of.  It  was  with 
difficulty  that  the  family  and  the  Doctor  got  the  consent  of  the 
controlling  spirit  to  have  the  body  magnetized;  however,  the  treat- 
ment was  given,  Dr.  S.,  being  under  control  of  Peonomo,  his 
Indian  healer,  and  while  he  treated,  Peonomo  talked  in  his  native 
language,  and  Mary  interpreted  for  her  parents.  The  conver- 
sation was  about  the  diseased  organs  of  which  Lurancy  was  wholly 
ignorant.  The  letter  referred  to  ordered  five  treatments,  but 
three  proved  sufficient  to  reinstate  natural  action,  and  to  make 
better  conditions  for  the  controlling  spirit  to  finish  the  cure.  Lu- 
rancy has  had  the  strongest  regard  and  affection  for  the  family 
of  Dr.  Stevens  and  our  family,  and  all  of  Mary  Roff's  friends  ever 
since  Mary  relinquished  her  control,  and  Lurancy  became  herself 
again.  The  father  and  mother  of  Lurancy  remain  firm  in  the 
belief  that  it  was  spirit  power  that  saved  and  cured  their  daughter. 

Yours  truly, 

ASA  B.   ROFF. 

REMINISCENCES 

OF    MY    SISTER    MARY    ROFF 

By  MRS.  H.  H.  ALTER.* 

It  has  often  occurred  to  me  that  a  recital  of  some 
of  the  incidents  attending  the  home-coming  of  my 
sister,  Mary  Roff,  might  be  of  interest  to  others  who 
have  sisters  inhabiting  the  Borderland.  The  joy  that 
is  ours  when,  after  years  of  separation,  we  again 
meet  the  loved  ones  of  this  life,  w^as  intensified  w^hen 
from  out  of  the  misty  depths  come  unannounced  my 
own  spirit  sister  Mary. 

Up  to  that  time,  I  had  been  led  to  believe  that  an 
insurmountable  barrier  shut  out  for  ever  the  return 
of  an  inhabitant  of  that  far-away  home.     What  this 

*Nee  Minerva  Roff. 


THE  WATSEKA  WONDER  55 

revelation  meant  to  me,  I  can  not  express.  With  it 
came  a  new  incentive,  and  a  glorious  sunshine  that 
has  ever  lingered  to  brighten  and  harmonize  all  that 
is  dear  to  me.  This  visitation  was  as  real  as  if  in 
some  foreign  land  I  had  come  face  to  face  with  the 
living,  breathing  sister  of  my  earlier  life — the  kiss, 
the  embrace,  and  the  girlish  laugh  as  palpable  as 
when  in  the  physical  form. 

I  am  now^  sixty-four  years  of  age.  I  could  have 
no  purpose  to  deceive  myself,  or  to  mislead  others. 
My  life,  w^hile  uneventful,  has  been  a  happy  one. 
My  confidence  in  the  fulfillment  of  all  hopes  as  to  the 
future  life,  has  grown  year  by  year,  with  my  age. 
And  as  the  sunset  approaches,  I  harbor  no  fear  of  the 
coming  night:  its  shadow^s  contain  w^ithin  their 
folds  no  demand  to  torment  w^ith  horror  the  closing 
hour.  I  have  come  to  know^  something  tangible  of 
the  land  to  w^hich  w^e  are  all  traveling;  and  I  look 
for  the  sunrise  in  the  morning  of  my  other  home 
with  the  same  joy  that  gladdens  my  soul  in  this. 
The  mystery  of  the  out-going  is  not  to  me  as  per- 
plexing as  is  the  secret  of  the  in-coming,  into  life. 
Whether  w^e  confess  it  or  not,  the  know^ledge  most 
sought  is  that  of  another  life;  the  interest  in  the 
parts  we  are  now  playing  is  submerged  in  the  parts 
w^e  are  destined  to  play  in  the  next  stage  of  evolu- 
tion. Every  player  in  the  great  drama  of  existence 
has  a  particular  role.  The  character  of  Katrina 
Hogan,  as  depicted  by  Dr.  Stevens  in  the  preceding 
pages,  w^as  clearly  visible.  When  Katrina  had  pos- 
session of  the  body  of  Lurancy  Vennum,  previous 
to  the  occupancy  of  Mary  Roff,  my  mother  and  I 
entreated  her  to  desist  from  her  course  and  vulgar 
control.  We  appealed  to  Katrina's  better  self,  to 
withdraw^  her  influence;  pointing  out  the  injury  she 
was  inflicting  upon  the  divine  girl-nature  entrusted 
to  our  care.  This  appeal  was  not  in  vain.  Katrina 
confessed   her  selfish  purpose;   she  not  only  prom- 


56  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

ised  to  abandon^  but  she  did  abandon,  in  a  great 
measure,  her  pernicious  interference.  On  this  oc- 
casion she  said,  as  I  remember,  "Mrs.  Roff,  I  am  not 
as  bad  as  you  think  me  to  be  .  On  earth  I  was  pos- 
sessed of  a  strong  magnetic  body.  I  loved  to  employ 
it  to  my  purpose.  I  had  a  hand  that  could  crush 
you  with  its  strength;  and  it  is  through  the  exercise 
of  this  magnetic  power  that  life  has  been  sustained 
in  the  w^eakened  body  of  Lurancy  Vennum." 

Such  a  part  of  the  drama  of  every-day  life  you, 
my  reader,  might  not  care  to  take.  You  w^ould  pre- 
fer that  your  lines  be  woven  into  the  fabric  of  finer 
character.  Yet  we  each  play  a  part  commensurate 
to  our  development,  and  in  touch  with  our  sympa- 
thies. When  the  great  poet  wrote,  *'The  world's 
a  stage,  and  all  the  people  players,"  he  might  well 
have  added  that  when  in  this  life  the  play  is  ended 
and  the  curtain-lights  are  extinguished,  the  perfor- 
mance is  still  continued :  the  invisible  character 
coming  and  going,  each  repeating  their  lines,  and 
the  music  of  the  orchestra,  unheard  by  mortal  ears, 
still  floating  in  the  vast  Ampitheatre  of  Nature; 
and  that  yet  further  on,  under  the  blows  of  a 
noiseless  hammer,  there  are  grow^ing  into  life  the 
stage-settings  for  another  act;  amid  the  rehearsals 
and  repetitions  each  actor  working  out  a  role  that 
is  his  alone. 

It  was  at  the  final  solicitation  of  the  parents  of 
Lurancy  Vennum,  that  she  became  a  temporary  in- 
mate of  my  mother's  home;  it  w^as  so  desired  by 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Vennum  with  the  hope  that  they  might 
avoid  committing  Lurancy  to  an  insane  asylum 
Lurancy  was  received  with  a  far  greater  joy  than 
w^ould  have  characterized  the  homecoming  of  a 
daughter  in  this  life.  We  realized  that  we  were 
welcoming  in  the  physical  form  a  daughter  and 
sister  w^ho  had  been  dead  tw^elve  long  years. 

I   remember  that   after  the     warm     greeting   was 


^-4 


THE  WATSEKA  WONDER  57 

over,  Lurancy  approached  the  piano,  and  said :  "Oh, 
Ma!  The  same  old  piano — and  the  same  old 
cover!"  Then  opening  the  case  of  the  instrument, 
she  attempted  to  play  and  sing  as  of  yore.  The 
songs  were  the  ones  of  her  youth;  as  we  stood 
listening,  the  familiar  notes  were  hers,  although 
emanating  from  another's  lips.  The  effect,  how- 
ever, w^as  only  partially  successful.  Turning  w^ith  a 
smile  to  the  family  present,  she  remarked,  "I  can  not 
make  my  fingers  w^ork  just  right." 

Frequently  my  sister  Mary  would  give  us  instruc- 
tions as  to  w^hat  w^e  should  do  to  insure  the  return 
of  health  to  the  body  of  Lurancy  Vennum  in  which 
she  was  then  living.  When  these  instructions  were 
carried  out,  the  results  w^ere  alw^ays  beneficial.  At 
times  she  w^as  permitted  to  visit  other  homes,  and  to 
associate  w^ith  other  girls.  It  was  then  that  the 
conditions  seemed  to  open  the  way  for  the  intrusion 
of  Katrina  Hogan,  and  others;  and  after  such 
absences,  not  until  the  harmonious  influences  of 
her  old  home  were  reached,  would  she  emerge  the 
same  sw^eet  sister  Mary — clearly  demonstrating  that 
favorable  conditions  w^ere  necessary  to  her  undis- 
turbed tenancy  of  Lurancy*s  body.  Here  auto-sug- 
gestion may  have  been  concerned;  for  if  we  retain 
memory  in  the  life  beyond,  w^hich  w^e  must  do  to 
again  recognize  anything  on  this  plane,  is  it  not 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  same  law^  governs 
there  as  here?  But  could  auto-suggestion  pre- 
arrange in  all  its  detail  the  drama  as  it  was  being 
enacted?      Impossible! 

As  before  intimated,  there  w^as  at  times  an  in- 
complete hypnosis  w^hich  might  be  likened  to  the 
lingering  rays  of  the  setting  sun  blending  w^ith  the 
night.  Neither  personality  at  first  stood  out  pos- 
itively, clear  and  complete  in  itself. 

It  must  be  undersood  that  the  ego — the  conscious 
spirit — is  an  entity — an  ^individualized  entity"  that 


58  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

no  flesh-and-blood  walls  can  confine  when  higher 
heavenly  intelligence  have  some  great  purpose  to 
accomplish. 

During  the  three  months  that  my  sister  Mary 
lived  in  the  body  of  Lurancy,  I  was  brought  to  feel 
that  whatever  solution  we  might  choose  to  adopt, 
the  unknown  laws  utilized  were  in  accord  with 
those  governing  my  ow^n  existence.  No  strained  re- 
lations existed  between  the  unseen — spiritually — 
sister  and  myself.  It  did  not  seem  strange  to  me 
that  the  crossing  and  re-crossing  of  the  innumerable 
wires  that  kept  us  in  touch  with  the  other  life,  and 
w^hich  enable  those  of  that  other  life,  to  sense  this 
life,  should  transmit  some  things  peculiar  to  their 
source.  I  can  not  but  believe  that  my  loved  ones 
belong  to  me  always,  whether  they  are  living  in  a 
physical  plane  or  a  spiritual  body. 

During  Mary*s  visit,  she  and  I  spent  many  happy 
hours  in  going  over  the  events  of  our  girlhood  days, 
many  scenes  of  which  I  had  forgotten  until  they 
were  recalled  by  Mary.  I  remember  that  during 
one  of  these  long  talks,  we  were  seated  by  the  kitch- 
en window  overlooking  a  stretch  of  the  garden  in 
which  my  sister  had  played  years  before,  and  which 
surrounded  the  house  in  which  she  died.  Suddenly 
Mary  exclaimed:  '*Oh,  Nervie!  Do  you  remember 
the  time  when  Cousin  Allie  Roff  and  I  found  an  old 
hen  with  sore  eyes  under  that  currant  bush — how 
we  bathed  her  eyes  in  ointment,  and  did  all  w^e 
could  to  cure  her?"  I  had  forgotten  this  prank, 
and  many  others  that  Mary  likewise  called  to  mind 
for  me. 

Upon  a  certain  occasion  when  Mary  was  being 
interviewed  by  Mrs.  Sherman,  to  whom  reference 
has  been  made  by  Dr.  Stevens,  she  was  questioned 
as  one  would  question  a  traveler  from  a  strange 
country,  and  requested  to  give  an  account  of  the 
personages  she  had  met  in  the  Summerland.     Mary 


THE  WATSEKA  WONDER  59 

gave  to  Mrs.  Sherman  the  exact  names  of  those  who 
had  composed  her  family,  then  long  since  dead, 
and  also  the  names  of  many  of  Mrs.  Sherman's 
neighbors  and  acquaintances  who  had  passed  out; 
mentioning  in  .particular  the  family  of  Rev.  Mr 
Rhea,  and  stating  the  name  of  a  child  in  spirit  form 
unknown  to  Mrs.  Sherman.  From  her  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  Rhea  family,  Mrs  Sherman  in- 
sisted that  Mary  was  mistaken  in  this  instance;  but 
Mary  stoutly  maintained  that  the  child  named  was 
resident  in  the  life  beyond,  and  later  investigation 
proved  this  to  be  correct.  The  name  given  w^as 
one  being  considered  w^hen  the  babe  at  childbirth, 
or  shortly   afterwards,   passed   out. 

If  such  occurrences  as  the  foregoing  do  not  possess 
positively  the  value  of  clear  and  direct  communi- 
cation w^ith  the  spirit  w^orld,  some  other  solution 
not  involving  auto-suggestion  must  be  evolved.  If 
the  hypothesis  of  a  subconscious,  subliminal  self 
be  adopted,  how  much  of  a  distinct  personality 
may  we  claim  to  represent?  And  how  do  those  who 
object  to  the  spiritual  hypothesis  know^  to  w^hat 
extent  their  objections  are  due  to  this  same  auto- 
suggestion? 

Is  the  brain  the  plaything  of  external  forces  that 
make  or  dismantle  that  which  we  each  so  proudly 
claim  as   especially  our  ow^n — distinct   personality? 

If  auto-suggestion  accounts  for  the  phenomena 
in  the  case  of  my  sister,  then  must  it  account  for 
much  or  all  the  phenomena  we  daily  experience.  Is 
the  scientist  less  under  the  influence  of  this  subtle 
agent,  than  the  brain  untutored?  Are  we  depen- 
dent upon  the  character  of  our  own  mentality,  or 
are  our  brains,  as  it  w^ere,  but  sensitized  plates  re- 
ceiving and  recording  fleeting  thought-pictures  as 
they  pass  unbidden  before  us?  These  explanations 
are  to  me  cumbersome  and  strained  when  compar- 
ed with  the  distinct  reality  of  spirit  return,  which 


60  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

is  simple  and  natural,  and  in  accordance  with  the 
Principles  of  Nature  as  we  are  beginning  to  under- 
stand them. 

As  the  time  appointed  grew  nearer  and  nearer 
for  the  departure  of  my  sister  Mary,  I  w^as  filled 
w^ith  anxiety  as  to  when  and  how^  the  conscious 
spirit  of  Lurancy  Vennum  would  return  and  claim 
her  own  body.  Unusual  indeed  in  this  life  is  the 
spectacle  of  two  personalities  alternately  inhabit- 
ing and  dominating  one  tenancy.  My  doubts  and 
fears  as  to  the  outcome  w^ere  intensified  by  the 
public  criticism,  naturally  enough  engendered;  and 
this  kept  me  in  close  scrutiny  of  all  that  w^as  about 
to  take  place. 

On  a  certain  morning,  my  Mother  and  I  w^ere 
seated  in  Mother's  bed-room,  with  Lurancy  between 
us.  We  determined  to  test  the  possibility  of  the 
contemplated  change;  and  we  asked  Mary  if  she 
could  comprehend  the  purpose  of  her  control  of 
Lurancy's  body,  and  w^hen  and  how  the  personal- 
ities could  be  effected.  "Mary,**  I  said,  you  tell  us 
that  *Lurancy  is  just  on  the  outside*;  can  you  dem- 
onstrate the  change  of  characters?'*  *'l  understand 
why  I  am  here,  of  course,"  she  replied;  "I  will  ask 
and  see  if  Lurancy  can  come  back."  And  in  an 
instant,  Lurancy — timid  and  shrinking,  again  in  the 
physical,  and  in  a  strange  home — w^as  before  us. 
The  change  in  personality  was  complete  in  every 
way,  and  the  situation  was  painfully  embarrassing. 
Lurancy — the  real  Lurancy — again  in  her  own  body, 
demanded  to  know^  w^here  she  w^as.  She  recognized 
me,  however;  I  had  trained  her  with  other  girls  in 
various  church  and  social  functions.  But  I  had  to  in- 
troduce her  to  my  mother.  Lurancy  asked  to  be  tak- 
en home,  and  inquired  most  eagerly  after  her  mother 
and  the  immediate  family.  We — Mother  and  I — 
explained  that  she  had  been  ill  and  that  she  wai 
with  us  for  the  purpose  of  being  cured.     Then  in  a 


THE  WATSEKA  WONDER  61 

moment  the  personality  was  reversed  and  my  sister 
Mary  was  speaking  from  Lurancy*s  body.  Grasping 
me  about  the  neck,  she  implored — *'Nervie,  do  you 
longer  doubt  that  it  is  I?"  It  was  then  that  Mary 
informed  us  that  within  a  week — naming  the  day — 
she  w^ould  depart  to  her  home  in  heaven. 

Dr.  Stevens  has  faithfully  portrayed  many  events 
occurring  in  this  wonderful  history;  and  I  might  and 
would  add  many  more  that  did  not  come  under  his 
notice,  did  I  not  feel  that  so  to  do  could  not  further 
strengthen  the  evidence  of  an  angePs  visitation  to 
my  Father's  home. 

On  the  morning  of  the  day  that  was  named,  I 
went,  as  instructed  by  Mary,  to  my  parents*  home 
for  a  final  leave-taking;  and  from  thence  it  was 
arranged  that  I  should  accompany  Mary  to  my 
Father's  office,  and  that  Father  should  escort  her 
home. 

The  sadness  of  a  farewell  is  too  well  known  to  all 
mothers  and  sisters.  Leaving  the  home  arm-in-arm, 
Mary  and  I  started  on  what  was  to  me  a  most  mar- 
velous journey.  Then  did  I  fully  realize  the  wonder 
of  it;  I  knew  that  but  few  mortals  could  understand 
I  w^as  w^alking  dow^n  the  road  in  close  companion- 
ship w^ith  a  conscious  intelligence  that  had  dwelt  in 
another  world  for  twelve  years.  But  it  was  very 
real  to  me. 

After  we  had  passed  the  home  of  Mrs.  Marsh, 
where  good-byes  were  said,  and  when  I  was  oppress- 
ed by  fears  of  something  I  could  not  define,  I  said  to 
Mary,  **Where  is  Lurancy  now?"  "Just  on  the  out- 
side, Nervie,"  she  answered,  as  she  had  answered 
before;  and  like  a  flash  there  was  another  change, 
and  Lurancy  Vennum  had  returned.  Startled  and 
confused,  in  my  efforts  to  pacify,  I  assured  her  we 
were  on  our  w^ay  to  her  home ;  and  then  I  prayed 
with  all  my  might  that  Mary  might  be  permitted  to 
again  come,  and  remain  until  w^e  reached  home.  And 


62  THE  WATSEKA  WONDER 

as  instantaneously  as  before,  there  was  yet  another 
alteration:  Lurancy  was  gone,  and  Mary  w^as  back 
at  my  side. 

Together  w^e  entered  my  ow^n  home,  w^hich  w^e 
passed  to  reach  my  Father's  office,  for  the  last  time; 
and  after  we  had  rested  for  a  few  moments,  and 
crowded  into  that  brief  space  all  the  love  and  en- 
dearments we  had  so  sorely  missed  from  each  other 
in  a  separation  of  years,  the  final  kiss  was  given  and 
returned — and  in  a  moment  Mary  had  left  us  for  the 
last  time. 

Lurancy  Vennum  has  grown  to  be  a  healthy,  mid- 
dleaged  woman.  She  is  the  mother  of  eleven  chil- 
dren, and  is  respected  as  a  neighbor  and  honored  as 
a  friend.  Of  the  part  she  played  in  a  great  drama 
staged  by  heaven  and  earth,  and  of  what  she  experi- 
enced, she  has  but  dim  remembrance;  but  her  at- 
tachment to  her  former  friends  has  not  lessened  with 
the  passing  years. 
Watseka,  Illinois, 

September  7,  1908. 


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